


A Last Resort

by TheGreatKhaleesi



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, badger cereal, caring for hurt Danny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatKhaleesi/pseuds/TheGreatKhaleesi
Summary: Danny has been captured by the GIW and experimented on and tormented in ways Vlad can't imagine. Danny escapes and goes to the only person who can help, Vlad,  But will the other halfa's help be enough so save his life?
Comments: 32
Kudos: 116





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Phantom of Truth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/706222) by [Haiju](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haiju/pseuds/Haiju). 



> Inspired by Phantom of Truth. 
> 
> Phantom Planet never happened.
> 
> Hey y'all, please feel free to comment or let me know what you think. This is for the most part finished, but I'm happy to fill in gaps should the inspiration arise. 
> 
> I do not own Danny Phantom

He just had to make it to Vlad’s. 

Danny still reeled at the thought. Vlad was his most dangerous enemy and Danny knew full well the dangers he could face. He expected Vlad to immediately seize him and lock him somewhere where his ghost powers wouldn’t work. But he also knew Vlad never wanted him dead and he was counting on that. 

He knew what Vlad wanted; and handing himself over to him wasn’t ideal, but it was all he could do.

He escaped from the GIW, carrying his dismembered hand with him. He was still bleeding ectoplasm, but the hand itself was still twitching and Danny could feel it’s pain. 

Danny felt himself dozing off mid-air again. He landed roughly and lay on the ground for a bit, struggling for breath. He took stock of his injuries again. Making it to Wisconsin was a long shot and he knew it. 

He wanted nothing more than to sleep. He couldn’t think clearly or see clearly for that matter. Laying on the uneven, rocky Earth was dragging him down closer to sleep. 

“No,” he breathed aloud and shook his head. The dizziness was overwhelming and he dry heaved. 

_Won’t be doing that again._

He couldn’t let himself fall asleep. If he did, he wasn’t sure he’d ever wake up again. If he turned back to his human form this far away from society he’d die in minutes. 

He focused on the icy cold deep in his chest to remain a ghost. He channeled what was left of that cold, imaginary organ inside him to take flight again. He cradled his stump against his chest and held it in place with his other forearm. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to carrying his right hand in his left. 

He was terrified of Vlad. But he was terrified of dying more. The first time had really hurt and we wasn’t even sure if he had died all the way that time. He couldn’t die, not like this. He passed over Lambeau field and knew he was getting close. Perhaps he would live to see this through.

He felt himself falling out of the sky. He couldn’t keep going much longer. Once again he came to a very rough landing; one that made his entire body spasm in pain. He screamed aloud as fire raked across his body.  
He took a few shuddering breaths. Every time his lungs expanded his ribs and his back protested with sharp bursts of pain. 

He’d walk the rest of the way. It was difficult to get to his feet. He crawled over to a nearby tree and pulled himself up. 

He took a few unsteady steps. He tried to ignore the pain. 

_yes brain yes. I am aware that my body is gravely injured. You don’t have to keep reminding me._

Giving in to his pain would do nothing. He would make it to Vlad’s. 

It seemed to take hours to reach Vlad’s neighborhood. It wasn’t far from here. Danny was limping now, crying silently as he kept shuffling forward. Walking was dangerous; there was a trail of ectoplasm following him. The GIW would be able to track him. His heart started hammering even worse. It pounded so hard that his ribs hurt. If they caught him they’d kill him, no doubt about it. What he did doubt was how long it would take for them to follow through. 

_I can’t go back_

He saw Vlad’s house now. Spots were dancing across his vision. There was a rim of black around the edges. He was freezing and knew he wouldn’t stay conscious much longer. 

_Please let the old fruitloop be home. Please let the old fuitloop be home._

He didn’t remember making it to the front door. In fact, most of his journey here was a blur. 

He pounded on the door. He didn’t have the energy to turn intangible and go through his walls. He probably had anti-ghost technology anyway. That would also be rude. 

He knocked harder, now using the frame to hold himself up. _Please let him be home._

To his surprise the door swung open. Vlad was there, wearing his normal black suit. 

“Please…” Danny wheezed. “help.” 

Suddenly the world did a flip and turned on its side. Everything went black.

...

Vlad caught the injured boy as he collapsed. He scooped Danny into his arms carrying him bridal style into the house. The second Vlad had touched him, white rings from his waist formed and moved up and down his body. The human boy was in his arms instead. 

He took a moment to look back at the doorstep. There was a hand on his door mat. 

“What did you get yourself into, Daniel?” he gasped.   
He turned into Plasmius. He immediately felt hotter and stronger, which was good because Danny was so cold pressed against him. He cloned himself and retrieved the dismembered limb. There was blood beginning to soak through Plasmius’ robes. 

Danny was dying. 

Vlad turned intangible and descended into his private lab. He lay Danny on the observation table in the center of the room. First things first, he had to get this kid back into ghost form. If he didn’t, he’d bleed out. 

He searched his shelves for the maximus Plasmius. If it could revert the boy to his human form, it must be able to do the reverse as well. He fiddled with the buttons and aimed it at Danny, holding his breath. He squeezed the trigger. White rings surrounded his body again and he turned back into the ghost. 

He looked over at his clone. It was standing off to the side, long since forgotten about, delicately holding Danny’s right hand. Vlad wiped sweat off his face. _What now?_

He took stock of the boy’s injuries. His right hand was missing, and the stump was bleeding profusely. There was a huge piece a shrapnel embedded deep in his leg, but at the moment it wasn’t bleeding as bad as his other injuries. There was another smaller piece of shrapnel stuck in the boy’s chest. His ghost’s uniform was missing reveling a small, but muscular chest. It was covered in bruises, including three that Vlad could associate with broken ribs. There were burns and superficial, but still deep, wounds across his entire torso and thighs. There were deep electrical burns and open wounds lining his body, around his wrists, ankles, waist, chest and neck. 

He needed to deal with the hand first. In human form, he’d bleed out in minutes. He knew, medically, that there was no way to reattach a dismembered limb. But there was something nagging, some other hope that maybe he could reattach the hand. Ghosts did heal much faster than normal humans. 

He took the hand from the clone. He was too stressed, to frazzled to keep track of more than one pair of eyes at a time, so he let the clone vanish. 

He stood by Daniel’s right side and pressed the hand back to it’s stump. There was no flash of brilliant light or anything. It just looked gross to see the hand pressed back into place. 

He focused his energy on healing his hand, sending as much ectoplasm as he could to the wound. It glowed bright red and green. He willed it harder, closing his eyes and sweating. If it didn’t work he’d have to cauterize. The light turned bright white, Vlad could see it through his eye lids. 

He felt the heat in his hand diminish. When he looked up, the hand was reattached. The wounds around his wrist remained and his hand looked as if it had been dissected, but Danny was in one piece. 

_Okay Vlad, what now?_

Danny turned back into the human form. 

_Oh dear_  
Blood. Danny needed more blood. Vlad remembered that he had stores of O negative. His heart burned in shame. The blood was for when he kidnapped Danny and tortured him into being his son. That wasn’t going to happen now. No one would hurt this kid ever again. 

He reached into a fridge and got blood. He hooked it up to an IV and slid the needle into Danny’s arm. He hooked the blood bag up to a stand.   
He couldn’t call any doctors or anything. Whoever had held this boy prisoner would want him back. They’d monitor the hospitals for a boy that had his injuries, inconsistent vitals and signs of ecto-contamination. He wouldn’t be hard to find. Danny couldn’t have made it far either. 

Suddenly a portal appeared before him. Vlad changed his stance, ready to defend the unconscious Danny at any cost. A giant wolf came out of the portal wearing a green prison uniform. The wolf was viscous looking, ectoplasm dripping out of its mouth. 

Vlad flew high in the air, aiming his hand to shoot ectoplasm. He hesitated, watching the wolf. Its eyes softened and he slowly approached Danny. 

“Don’t touch him!” Vlad ordered. 

The wolf bared its fangs. It went around Danny, blocking him from Vlad, almost protectively. It also hesitated before attacking him. 

“Wolf, can you understand me?” Vlad asked. 

The wolf nodded. 

“Are you here to help Danny?”

The wolf nodded again. It turned around and brushed a paw through Danny’s hair. 

“You found us. Can other ghosts locate him the way you did?”

The wolf shook his head. “smell,” he said. 

Vlad nodded. “I will need your help,” 

The wolf nodded again, running his paw through the boy’s dark hair.

“Are there other ghosts in the ghost zone that would want to help him?” he asked. 

Wolf nodded. 

“He needs all our help. Can you summon them?” Vlad asked. 

Wolf slashed at the air, and opened a portal to an icy planet in the ghost zone. He recognized the green swirling, turbulent sky. He stepped through and vanished. 

He was alone with Danny again. He would need help with the shrapnel and anything pertaining to his ghost core. So what could he do in the meantime?

He pressed some buttons on his control panel and a shower appeared. He took the movable head off the wall and set it to warm water. He was worried about hypothermia and putting the poor kid into shock after the amount of blood he had lost. 

He set the setting to the gentlest spray he could and began washing the injured boy. He started with his chest to help even out his temperature. He was horrified at the dirt, dried blood and ectoplasm that flowed off Danny’s chest. He made sure to spend extra time on each of the wounds and burns, making sure they were as clean as possible. Most of these wounds were already infected; it wouldn’t do to have dirt or bacteria getting into other wounds.   
He cloned himself again, knowing he needed two sets of hands. He placed his hands under Danny’s back, and slowly lifted him to sitting. He didn’t want to disrupt the shrapnel in his leg. The clone held him up while Vlad looked at his back. 

He felt his lunch rise in him. His back was completely shredded. Long gashes stretched at all angles across his back, interlacing at the middle. He had been whipped so badly and so often that it looked like he was flayed instead. 

Vlad held back a sob and began spraying the water over the boy’s back. 

_Please stay unconscious_ Vlad prayed. This poor boy would be in agony were he to wake. He knew how wounds worked, cleaning them out when they were raw and bleeding hurt more than the initial injury. 

He’d just finished cleaning Danny’s arms when the portal opened again. Wolf stepped through, followed by a ghost yeti. 

“I’m frostbite,” the yeti said to Vlad. It held out a paw to shake hands. Vlad took it. 

“Plasmius. How do you know Daniel?”

“We helped him master his ice powers.”

Vlad smiled. “Thank you for coming,” he let the yetis approach Danny. 

“This leg needs to be removed,” Frostbite said, bending down to get a better look at the leg. “The shrapnel already removed most of it.”

“NO!” Vlad yelled, the image of Danny showing up on his porch without a hand rising to his mind’s eye. “The people who did this to him already took his hand, I can’t take another limb from him.”

Frostbite looked down at Danny again. “He came here without a hand?”

Vlad nodded. 

“He has both of them.”

“I reattached it.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. I just willed it, I guess. I used my own ectoplasm and tried to activate his.” 

“Do either of you have healing powers?”

“Not that I know of,” Vlad answered, looking down at his own hands. Perhaps he did have healing powers. He’d have to try. Maybe he could help Danny. 

Frostbite frowned. “We can try to save his leg. We’ll remove the metal. But if the leg dies, there is nothing we can do.” 

Vlad nodded. Danny was strong. He survived his captors, he made it Vlad’s. He was brave enough to come to Vlad for help. He’d survive this too. Vlad knew it. 

“Plasmius,” Frosbite said. “As in Danny’s nemesis?” 

“Well,” Vlad said. “I was. I just want to help him. He’s like a son to me.” 

Frostbite frowned. Vlad could see the skepticism in his eyes. “Then you have a fire core, correct?”

Vlad nodded. 

“We’ll need you to cauterize. We will turn the metal intangible. Pulling it out could cause more damage. But, be warned. As soon as it goes intangible he will bleed out. You will need to act quickly.”

Vlad nodded. There was a hard lump in the back of his throat. He didn’t want to hurt Danny. He understood this was all to help the boy, but there was a deep fear he felt. What if Danny could actually feel all this? It’d be torture.   
The yetis finished cleaning him. Vlad tried to step in and make himself more helpful, but they didn’t need his help yet. 

When they were finished, Frostbite gripped the piece of metal. Vlad approached, already heating his hand until it glowed.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has been captured by the GIW and experimented on and tormented in ways Vlad can't imagine. Danny escapes and goes to the only person who can help, Vlad, But will the other halfa's help be enough so save his life?

Vlad lay Danny in the large bed. It occurred to him that they might want to get a smaller bed if they were constantly changing bandages and leaning over him. Vlad sat down next to the injured teenager and combed his fingers through his hair. 

They’d managed to save the leg, but for how long Vlad didn’t know. They’d immobilized it with a splint and wrapped the wounds in bandages. There was a steady blood flow; Frostbite had told Vlad he’d done a good job cauterizing. They didn’t know if there was still nerve connection or if the muscles could heal. Only time would tell.

He didn’t know when Danny would wake. He didn’t know _if_ he would wake. Vlad thought about what chemistry he could do or where he could buy pain killers. Danny would be in serious pain if woke up and Vlad didn’t want him to suffer anymore. 

Wolf was sitting next to Danny, watching the doors and windows with untiring vigilance. Vlad was uncomfortable with the giant wolf guarding over Danny. He had no way of knowing if the wolf was dangerous or if he would scare Danny. 

There was a soft knock on the door. 

“Come in.”

Jeff, his personal assistant, came in, bringing two travel mugs. He handed Vlad his coffee and looked at Danny. He winced aloud. “What happened to this kid?”

“I don’t know yet,” Vlad answered. “I’m still working on figuring it out myself.”

“You can’t take him to a doctor?” 

“No. If the people looking for him search hospitals, they’ll find him in seconds. His injuries are extremely unique. He couldn’t have made it far either. This is safer.”

Jeff nodded. Vlad knew that he was silently disagreeing. 

“Well, anyway,” Jeff continued. “I brought you wound care, gauze, non stick pads, everything you requested. Is there anything else you need?”

“Yes. And it’s gonna suck, I’ll pay you extra.” 

“Name it.”

“There is blood and ectoplasm on my doorstep. I need you to clean it. Take wolf with you.”

Wolf looked up at Jeff and nodded. 

“It is not clean until Wolf cannot smell it anymore,” Vlad added. “Then I need you to follow the blood ectoplasm trail and clean all that as well, as far as you can go. Then. Use Wolf, he will find where any ectoplasm dripped if he was flying. We cannot risk these people tracking him. It will take awhile, I will give you a vacation when this all over.”

“You got it, boss.” He gestured at Wolf, who obediently followed Jeff out of the room. Vlad was alone with Danny. 

He gently ran his fingers through his hair. 

“I’m sorry, little badger,” He whispered. “It’ll be okay, now,”

He was once again plagued by a hurricane of emotions. 

The raging winds of his internal storm was guilt. He should have been there. He should have been someone who supported Danny, instead of an enemy. Kidnapping him, and threatening his family was not the way to gain anyone’s love, and certainly not a way of showing it. He was guilty that Danny was scared, and there was nothing he could do. He was ashamed of the lab he had and how he had gone about becoming the father he wanted to be. And that it took this much pain and suffering to bring Vlad to his senses. 

Then there was the worry and fear, and that was the quickly rising flood water. It’d already wiped out most reasonable thought, and he kept visualizing Danny drowning it, swept up and carried away. He was scared Danny was dying and he had made all the wrong decisions. He was worried Danny was in pain and that there was nothing he could do to help. He anticipated the people who’d tortured him to come back and track him down. Vlad would fight to the death, but would that be enough? Or would he end up hurting Danny even more?

He vowed he would keep Danny safe. That was a promise to Danny, the people who hurt him, and himself. It was satisfying to have his purpose now. He focused on that, and refused to get caught up in the rest of his thoughts.

He realized he’d been staring at Danny’s face. It was gaunt and more narrow than he remembered with scarily dark bruises under his eyes. His lip was split in half, and there were other bruises in varying colors. 

“I swear, little badger. Everything will be okay now.”

...

He didn’t know what was happening. At first he felt an almost unbearable heat approaching him, but it wasn’t burning him. In fact the warmth was welcome since he was freezing. He was always cold with his ice core but this was different. 

He couldn’t see. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or not. Maybe he was blind, and that struck new fear. 

He’d been blindfolded very frequently, so maybe he’d never really escaped like he had thought. 

Then was he moving? He realized his back had been in contact with something and now it wasn’t. But there was more agony, this time enough to make a different sort of blackness creep across Danny's “vision”. It was everywhere. His chest; his back; whatever remained of his right side; his feet. There was a terrible headache pounding behind his eyes. 

He felt nausea overwhelm him, but he couldn’t throw up. There was absolutely nothing to sustain him in his body. 

But then his back touch something again. This was cold and hard. Metal. He was being layed on a metal table. The stinging was horrendous in his back and he arched his body to try and get away. He cried out but he didn’t hear himself. Had he moved either?

The world was colder all of a sudden, and then, pain. It was all he could feel as water was poured onto his chest. 

“NO!” He shouted, turning his face away. They couldn’t drown him again, they couldn’t pour water and toxins into his wounds. 

“Daniel, it’s alright.” 

Suddenly there were hands in his hair. Danny recoiled, which brought alight new agony. 

“Try and rest Daniel, you’re safe.”

This couldn’t be real, he was on a table. But where was he? What had happened? Who was speaking?

“Daniel, open your eyes, it’s just me.”

The person continued to whisper kind words. The tones were gentle and soothing, but Danny couldn’t follow what he was saying. He was male, with a deep voice. It was familiar, but he didn’t think it was one of the guards or scientists. 

“Little Badger, hang in there.” 

“What?” he asked. It took all his effort. 

“Rest now, dear boy, it’ll be okay.”

Danny tried to answer but couldn’t. His chest was heaving and he realized he was choking on the effort of breathing. 

The hand stayed in his hair as he slowly became lost to the world of pain and confusion again. He couldn’t hear the man’s words but knew he was talking. 

But then another sensation started overtaking the pain. It was tiredness. He was exhausted and felt something else pulling him down into unconsciousness. Danny readily accepted the invitation and knew no more. 

...

It had been more than a twenty-four hours since Danny had showed up at Vlad’s. The boy still hadn’t woken up yet, except for that brief moment while Vlad was cleaning out his wounds. He’d shrieked and couldn’t seem to figure out what was happening. He passed out a few moments later. 

Vlad couldn’t shake off the worried feeling in his chest; he should have woken up by now. He felt irresponsible; he should have taken Danny to the hospital instantly. Every second he waited, it seemed like he was getting worse. 

Danny’s breathing was regular, which Vlad appreciated. He supposed Danny was breathing as deeply as he could, in slow regular intervals, but his breaths were shallow. 

He had a fever, which worried Vlad even more. He had an ice core, so seeing his temperature rise was problematic. Vlad had turned the a.c. on his room and tried to cool his body with ice packs and compresses. Given how thin Danny looked, Vlad assumed he hadn’t been fed. He’d also assumed he was severely dehydrated and if he was losing blood and ectoplasm he would need the nourishment. 

“C’mon, you need water, Daniel,” Vlad pleaded, not bothering to lower his voice. While Danny needed his sleep, and Vlad didn’t want him to be in pain, he needed water more. He sat on the bed next to Danny and pulled him to sitting, making sure to support his head. He leaned Danny’s shoulder and head against his chest, keeping an arm around his shoulders to hold him upright. Danny’s head lolled, and his face was upturned towards Vlad. 

This is what made Vlad the most uncomfortable. How limp Danny was. His body made no reaction to being moved or touched. His breathing remained the same, eyes still closed and face slack. Lifeless was the word that popped into Vlad’s head. This was the most dead he’d ever seen the already half dead teenager and that terrified him. 

Besides his breathing, it was hard to tell if he was still half alive. 

Vlad slowly dribbled water on his chapped lips, being careful not to spill all over him. It was slow going, waiting for the water to either evaporate or be absorbed into his system. Vlad didn’t know which was happening but hoped it was the latter. 

He set Danny down again, slowly lowering him back onto the bed. He focused on his ghost core, feeling the warmth that burned deep inside him. He tried to reach out to the ghost core of the sleeping boy next to him.   
He felt it. But instead of an ice cold, unmistakable presence, he felt only a slight coolness. It was distant as though Danny were far away. He really had to focus to identify the other halfa’s core from everything else around him.   
Vlad took a deep breath. Maybe he could charge his weakened core or strengthen it with his own. Vlad had had hope that Danny would recover; his ghost core was so strong. But now he wasn’t sure. 

He took a deep breath and let Plasmius overwhelm him. Once again, he felt stronger and hotter. He tried to suppress the heat and flames that made up who he was. While he wanted to strengthen Danny’s core, he didn’t want to melt it. He overshadowed Danny. 

He’d never overshadowed a sleeping person before and was struck by the lack of resistance. He could feel every ache in his body. His right hand was burning sharply, and there was a deep pain in his abdomen. That was scarier. At least Vlad knew what was causing the pain in Danny’s hand. It wasn’t only physical sensations though. He could feel all the fear, the uncertainty, the confusion, hurt, betrayal every raw emotion plaguing Danny’s subconscious.   
Vlad took another deep breath and united his core with Danny’s. It was freezing, and Vlad felt like his flames were being smothered. He gasped aloud at the sharp coldness overwhelming him. He heard Danny’s body gasp instead of his own. It took Vlad a moment to embrace the feeling and let Danny’s damaged core suck up all the strength it could. 

Vlad’s thoughts grew slow and sluggish before disappearing completely. He shook himself out of it. The cold feeling had started to dissipate. It was time to release his hold on Danny. Vlad forced their cores apart, and returned to his physical form, glad to be back in his own body. He assessed the situation again. He was tired and knew he would have to go lie down. His core was still there, intact and smoldering, like someone had poured water on a fire and the coals were still hot. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the familiar coldness of Danny’s core. It still wasn’t as cold or strong as it normally was, but his presence was there; unmistakably Danny. Maybe he could heal on his own now. Or at least he’d wake up, or the healing process would speed up a bit. If Vlad couldn’t nourish his human half, at least he could help with his ghost half. 

He turned back to human, which was a mistake. His head swam and he didn’t know if he could make it to his own bedroom. He stumbled over to the other side of the bed and managed to climb in before collapsing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to message me, or leave comments! Thank you for reading!


	3. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has been captured by the GIW and experimented on and tormented in ways Vlad can't imagine. Danny escapes and goes to the only person who can help, Vlad, But will the other halfa's help be enough so save his life?

It took Danny a long time to wake up. First it was an awareness that he wasn’t entirely asleep. He was still thinking though, and his thoughts were vivid and uncontrollable as if he was dreaming. Then it was the strange noises around him, or lack there of. He heard an occasional door opening down a hall, soft footsteps. He knew he was in a bed, laying on his back which stung terribly. There were blankets pulled up to his chest. 

It took him a moment to realize that he was indeed alive. Vlad had saved his life. 

He couldn’t open his eyes yet, still mostly asleep. He’d gotten accustomed to sleeping like this, aware of what was happening around him, on high alert.

He heard a door open and then close. It was quiet, like the person was trying not to wake him. There were footsteps that padded across the room to where he slept. Danny’s heart was pounding. A warm, large hand touched his forehead, then slowly carded through his hair. He leaned into the warm touch. Maybe it was his dad; maybe he was home. 

The thought sparked a lightening bolt of fear. He forced himself awake, wrenching himself out of the peace he had found for a few minutes. The pain over his entire body washed over him. 

Vlad was sitting next to him. It was his hand in his hair. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said. His voice was gentle, but clearly he was surprised to see him awake. 

“Vlad,” Danny’s voice was barely a whisper. He tried to sit up but was met with tongues of fire engulfing him. 

“Easy, easy,” Vlad’s voice was quiet. He placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder, holding him in place. 

“How long has it been?” 

“About two days.” 

“Am I still in your mansion?” 

“Yes, little badger. How are you feeling?” 

He was feeling terrible. His right hand stung, the palm was the worst. 

“Wait,” he said aloud, remembering that his hand had been cut off. His back screamed in agony as he pulled his arm out from under the covers. His hand was there. It was almost completely encased in white bandages, looking like an oversized mitten, but it was there. “M-my hand,” He stammered, examining it.

“Rest easy,” Vlad said again, “Your hand should be fine.”  
“What’d you do? How did you reattach it?” 

“I don’t know. Frostbite seems to think one of us has healing powers. I’ve been trying to use them again, but I can’t figure out how.” 

Tears welled in his eyes. He was in Vlad’s mansion. He had counted on Vlad not to let him die, and he was right. But what was next?

“Vlad,” Danny whispered again, searching the man’s face. “Vlad, I…” the words pained him. “I’ll be your son, I want you to train me….please.”

The older man held his left hand. 

“Shh,” he said. “Don’t say things like that.”

“I mean it,” Danny said, panic rising in him. “I’ll renounce my family to stay with you.”

“Daniel, I don’t want you to promise that. You have no obligation to me, and I…I’m sorry for all that I’ve done to hurt you.” His voice hitched on his words.

“What?” Danny asked. 

“Daniel, what happened to you?”

Danny was quiet for a moment, the wetness in his eyes summoning a hard lob in the back of his throat. 

“What are you going to do with me?” he asked, looking up at Vlad. 

“I’m going to help you get better. Then, I’m going to find whoever did this to you and make them pay for what they’ve done.”

He started to cry. Danny turned away, ashamed to be showing weakness to Vlad. He knew Vlad would take advantage. 

Gentle hands were touching his face, turning him back to Vlad. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Vlad said. 

Danny let out a sob. He’d been wanting to hear those words for months. 

“Do you want me to call anyone? I haven’t told anyone you’re here because I didn’t know if that would be dangerous. Do you want me to contact your parents?” 

“NO!” Danny gasped. His panic rose and he started crying uncontrollably. “Vlad, please don’t.”

“Shh, shh,” Vlad said urgently. “I won’t call them. I swear. I won’t call your parents.”

Vlad gently combed his fingers through Danny’s hair. Danny turned his head, leaning into the comfortable touch. 

“You’re safe here, little badger,” Vlad said slowly, giving his shoulder a squeeze. 

Danny couldn’t stop crying. Vlad told him he was safe, but he was still alert and fearing capture or pain at every second. What if the GIW found him? What if his mother found him? Everything that happened at the GIW came rushing back to him, and he found it hard to pull himself back to the real world, back to his nemesis’s mansion. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked, looking at him closely. Danny tried to look at him through his blurry vision. He looked concerned, not malicious. “Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?” 

“Wh-what?” he stammered. 

“You need water, my boy.” 

Vlad scooted closer to Danny, and gently placed his hands under him. Danny immediately recoiled and tried to push him away, swatting and crying. 

“Daniel, I’m only helping you to sit up. I don’t want you to choke.”

Danny barely heard him. Hands were grabbing him, manhandling him into his stomach so they could…so they could… Danny screamed and tried to fight against them.

“Daniel, you’re safe,” A firm but gentle voice said from far away. “Daniel, open your eyes, look at me.”

Danny shook his head, trying to tune out what was happening trying to be somewhere else, anywhere else. They were tearing at his clothes, holding him down. They smelt like sweat and oil, like they worked on the machines used to torture him. Someone was climbing on top of him. 

“Daniel, please. Look at me.” 

Danny forced his eyes open. He was sitting upright, Vlad holding him tight to his chest. The man smelled of clean laundry, specifically Tide. It was the detergent he always liked to use. Vlad was pinning his arms between them, resting his chin on Danny’s head. He didn’t know how long it had been. It had felt like hours that he had been back there. 

“You’re safe Daniel,” Vlad said, moving slightly to meet Danny’s eyes. 

“Vlad,” He breathed. He was so scared and so relieved at the same time. 

“I’m sorry I frightened you.” 

Danny hiccuped. 

“Will you try to drink some water for me?”

Danny nodded. He went to wipe the tears off his face. Vlad finally let him move his arms. 

Vlad held the water out to him. Danny’s left hand was shaking so bad that he could barely grasp the glass. Vlad noticed this as well and instead held the cup to his lips. 

“Take little sips okay,” Vlad said. “There is no hurry. I have more if you want. Just go slow,” Danny slowly sipped, wishing Vlad would let him chug it. It was cold and soothed his aching throat. 

He felt so much better. His head was a little clearer. He could think. 

He rested his cheek against Vlad’s chest, savoring his warmth. Even in human form, he was unusually warm, a personal furnace. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, realizing he’d panicked. 

“Shh,” Vlad said quietly, “Don’t apologize. Are you okay now?”

“I don’t know,” Danny answered. More tears fell onto Vlad’s silky button down. 

Vlad slowly moved his hand up and down Danny’s arm.

“Are you in a lot of pain?” Vlad asked. 

“Yes,” Danny whimpered. 

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“NO! They’ll find me, it isn’t safe.”

“Okay. In which case, I have medicine, I’d like you try and drink it, alright? I have sleeping pills as well, would you like that?”

Danny nodded. 

“Are you comfortable here? Do you need me to adjust or put you down?”

Danny clutched at the man’s shirt with his left hand. “Please, don’t.”

“Of course,” Vlad gave him a comfortable squeeze. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Daniel, stop apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Danny sobbed again. 

“Daniel, I am going to protect you,” Vlad said. “As long as you’re with me, nothing will hurt you. You need not worry about the people who did this to you. They’ll have to go through me, my lawyers, and my ghost proof house to get to you.”

“Wh…what about you?” Danny asked. He shied away from Vlad for asking the question, ashamed. 

“I swear on everything I hold dear that I will not hurt you,” Vlad answered easily. “You are a son to me, and I will act like the father I’ve failed to be.”

Vlad gave him more water. He pressed the pain reliever and sleeping pill into his mouth and gave him more water to wash it down. 

Vlad continued to hold him, soothing him with kind words and reminding him he was safe. He combed his hand through his hair and kept a strong arm around Danny’s shoulders. Danny slowly relaxed as he felt the sleeping medicine and pain killers take effect. Suddenly he was very dizzy and tired. He closed his eyes, just for a second, and everything was gone. 

...

Vlad held Danny long after he fell asleep. He was scared to put him down; what if he woke up and was terrified? He’d never seen the teenager panic like that. He had screamed, swung both fists, even his injured right hand at Vlad. His breathing had been erratic and Vlad feared he would suffocate himself. He’d tried to scramble out of bed, and Vlad noticed some of the bandages were bloody from where he had pulled at his wounds. 

Vlad didn’t know what came over himself either. Instead of stepping back and letting the boy get his bearings, Vlad had pulled him close and held him. He’d had to pin his arms down, to protect himself and Danny. 

But it had worked. Danny calmed down when he realized Vlad was holding him. The knowledge that he could help this boy and calm him down warmed him. And he wouldn’t put Danny down if he didn’t have to. 

He rested his chin on the boy’s head, lost in his own thoughts.

What had happened to him? 

That was the question burning in Vlad’s brain. Why didn’t he want to see his parents? The simple question was almost enough to set him off. Almost. That hadn’t been what caused the panic attack but it had definitely led up to it. Danny loved his family, and Vlad knew it. He had faith in them, looked forward to seeing them. He also knew there was some underlying issues though; why had he never told them about his ghost half? And why was he so ready to renounce them? He’d sounded prepared to say that to Vlad. So what had happened that Danny came to Vlad, ready to say those things? Why was Vlad, Danny’s arch enemy, better than going home? 

Even if Danny had no other options, he would never submit that readily. Why did he think he had to? Where were the smart comments, the taunts, the sarcasm he normally exuded? Vlad had cornered the boy before, and he’d never given in, so why now had he surrendered before he even showed up? 

He thought back to the initial missing person reports. Jack had filed them. He said Maddie was out of town, took a summer position doing research. Danny had been missing for about two weeks before Maddie left though; and Vlad wondered how no one had noticed his absence or waited that long to report it. The police had looked through security cameras, monitored his debit card, and set up police hotlines, but they all come up with nothing. Vlad hadn’t been surprised, suspecting his disappearance was related to his ghost half. 

Why had he panicked? He was doing alright until Vlad tried to pick him up. He’d been as gentle as was humanly possible, placing one hand around his shoulders and the other under his lower back. It was the touch that set him off, not the motion of sitting up. His back was shredded and he knew it had probably hurt, but that didn’t feel right to Vlad. He’d been in pain the entire time he had been awake, why would he panic then? He also knew this boy; he had a higher pain tolerance than anyone he’d ever met. He’d seen Danny in terrible pain before, and he’d never panicked. 

Danny had attacked him plenty of times, and often with something a lot more dangerous and powerful than a weak fist. But this was different. This was raw fear and overwhelming terror. He hadn’t intended to do any harm, he’d only wanted to escape whatever was haunting him. Vlad never wanted to see anyone that afraid ever again. He held Danny tighter to him. 

He was still running over the panic attack in his head. Mentioning his parents had made him cry, that was the start of it. Why was he scared of his parents? And Vlad touching his lower back had been the trigger. Why had that done it? It wasn’t Vlad, he seemed to like it when he smoothed his hair or held his shoulders. Vlad hadn’t said anything to provoke him. So it must have been touching his lower back. Why would that cause the boy to panic?  
He had a terrible thought. He quickly shook it off, but it nagged at him. He had to know. 

He very slowly lay Danny back down, taking care to lower his head on the pillow. He pulled back the covers feeling   
anxious and guilty like he was violating some kind of trust. They hadn’t clothed him any; between his mangled leg, the wounds on his thighs and ass, and helping him use the bathroom, it would just be easier. Besides, clothing him would just cause unnecessary pain for him. 

He hadn’t noticed it when he first examined Danny, he’d been more worried about the bleeding. His penis was dark purple and swollen. Vlad frowned; while this didn’t confirm his theory, it only made him more anxious. He gently rolled Danny on his left side, keeping a hand on his shoulder to steady him. There was intense bruising around his hole and dried blood. 

Vlad sighed and rolled Danny onto his back again. He pulled the covers up to his neck, restoring his decency.

Well, there’s one set of questions answered. 

He could never un-see that. But he understood now why Danny had panicked. He knew how to better approach him. 

Should he bring it up to Danny? Vlad decided against it, Danny would tell him when he was ready. Until then, he would continue to care for him, and just be a little more careful about how he interacted him. He’d announce any touch to him, ask permission for even basic things like holding his hand, or running his fingers through his hair. He replayed the events of Danny waking up again. He’d calmed down and relaxed a little after Vlad had asked him questions. From here on out, Danny was always in control. 

His imagination brought him to the next logical question. 

Who did this? Who could possibly hurt Danny like this? Where was he this whole time?

Vlad could never have imagined doing something so terrible to anyone; especially Danny. He was a good boy, he was smart but couldn’t finish his homework because he was too busy saving the city. He was kind, and bullied for being an outsider at school. He was protective and loving and brave. Vlad had never really wanted to hurt him. He now realized he’d just wanted to be a part of Danny’s life and as an antagonist was the only way he knew how.   
Vlad broke down into tears, holding his head in his hands. He’d been a villain to Danny. Of course the boy was scared of him; of course he didn’t trust him. If he’d been there for Danny, someone he could turn to with questions about his ghost half, or fighting, or school, or girls, or anything maybe this wouldn’t have happened. He should have been there to protect him.


	4. Chapter 4

The next time Danny awoke, it was much the same. Except this time there was something breathing intensely next to him. He didn’t let himself sleep for long this time, prying his eyes open. 

Wolf was curled up beside him, snoring soundly. 

Danny smiled. He went to stretch out a hand to pet Wolf, but he was on his right side and Danny couldn’t bring himself to move his arm. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked.

Danny jumped so hard that he thought he was going to wake Wolf. He looked over at Vlad, who was sitting in a chair next to his bed. 

“Sorry,” Vlad said. He closed his book and set it on the nightstand. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Danny nodded. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Vlad asked.

Danny started shaking. Questions were usually accompanied by pain. Vlad must have noticed. 

“Daniel, I promised I wouldn’t hurt you,” Vlad said. “Can I put my hand on your shoulder?” 

Danny looked up at him, feeling more confused then ever. Why was wolf here? Why was Vlad still being nice? Why was he apprehensive about Vlad touching him? Well, he knew the answer to that one. But he remembered how it good it had felt the last time he woke up. Besides, he felt like he had to let him. Danny nodded at him. 

Vlad sat on the bed next to him, and put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. 

“It’s an easy question,” Vlad added. 

Danny waited, holding his breath. 

“Is Wolf really your friend? Is he a danger to you? Do you want him around?”

Danny sighed in relief. “That was three questions.” 

Vlad’s face lit up. Danny looked up at him, his confusion deepening. 

“Sorry, little badger, I just….It’s good to see you being snarky again.”

“Oh.”

“But seriously, about Wolf.”

“He is my friend. He is not a danger to me, but he might be to you, and I would like him around…if you’ll allow it.”

“Of course. If you want him to stay, then he’ll stay. Why might I be in danger?”

“He’ll maul anyone who tries to hurt me,” Danny replied. 

Vlad frowned. “Well, I won’t be in danger then.” 

“C-can I ask a question?” Danny asked. 

“Of course.”

“What is Wolf doing here?”

Vlad shrugged. “He just showed up. I went to fight him off, defending you. And he also went to defend you. That’s when we realized we were both on the same side. And now I can’t get him to leave.”

Danny looked over at Wolf, smiling. Wolf’s presence made him feel safe. It would be a little bit more difficult to harm him with Wolf around. 

“Would you try and eat some soup for me?” Vlad asked. Danny jumped again and looked back up at Vlad. “You must be hungry.”

He licked his lips. He’d ceased feeling hungry awhile ago, but he knew that was only because he was starving. “I…I’ll try.” 

Vlad smiled. He pulled out his phone and sent a text. 

“Who are you texting?” Danny blurted out, his paranoia rising exponentially. He expected some sort of punishment for talking to Vlad like that.

“My butler, Jeff. He’ll make it and bring it up.” Vlad put the phone in his left hand. Danny held it up. There was indeed a text to Jeff, reading _Please make chicken noodle ASAP. Bring it to Danny’s room._

“This isn’t a code of some kind?”

“Daniel, when I have ever worked with others?” 

Danny thought about it. He’d always been a solo villain. That’s why Danny often made fun of him. 

“I’m sorry,” Danny said, “I shouldn’t have shouted at you, I…”

“Daniel, stop. You have no need to apologize.” 

Danny choked back a sob. He didn’t want to cry again. 

“Do you want me to help you sit up?” Vlad asked. “I can get you some pillows, or I can hold you, like yesterday, if you want.” 

Danny didn’t know what he wanted. He needed to sit upright to eat, and he knew Vlad was only trying to comfort him. He desperately wanted to be comforted, he needed it, but it embarrassed him. He couldn’t ask his nemesis, the fruitloop, for that. 

“I…I’ll take some pillows,” He said. 

Did Vlad look a little disappointed? Danny thought he had imagined that look. Vlad went to the closet, brought back a few pillows and stacked them up behind him. 

“Okay, I’m gonna help you sit up. Are you ready?” Vlad asked. 

Danny nodded. 

“I’m gonna put my hands on your back to help you up, is that okay?” 

Danny nodded again, bracing himself. Vlad was very gentle, and he appreciated the warning about touching his back. There was a brief moment as Vlad was helping him sit up that he was supporting him from around his shoulders, just like yesterday. 

Suddenly, Danny was very afraid of being put down. Vlad was warm, and strong, and comfortable. Danny gripped his shirt again, and tried to hold himself up. 

“Sorry, I….” Danny babbled. His face grew red and hot. “Please, just….sorry."

Vlad understood. He sat down on the bed beside him and adjusted himself so they were more comfortable. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Vlad said quietly. “I just want to help.”

Danny rested his head on his Vlad’s chest, feeling his heartbeat. It was really slow, like scarily slow. He remembered that Vlad too was half ghost and therefore his heartrate was slower. This man was also in incredibly good shape, so that also lowered his heart beat. 

“It’s okay, Daniel,” Vlad said. He kept a supporting arm around his shoulders, and ran his other hand through Danny’s hair. “Everything will be okay.”

“Vlad?” Danny asked, looking up at him. 

Vlad picked his head up to look at him. 

“Why are you being so nice to me?” 

“Someone’s not very good at listening.” 

Danny immediately tensed and braced himself. He could feel himself shaking in the expectation of excruciating pain. 

“I’m sorry,” He pleaded, “I’ll listen, I’ll do a better job, I swear, I…”

“Daniel, stop,” Vlad said quietly. “I was kidding. I’m sorry, I didn’t even think before I said that….I was trying to be coy, lighten the mood a little.” 

Danny started to sob. Vlad held him tighter and rested his chin on Danny’s head. 

“I’m sorry, Daniel,” Vlad whispered. He sounded genuinely upset, his words sounding tight and painful. Danny looked up at Vlad again; he had tears in his eyes. “All I want to do is help you. I’m sorry that I’m not any good at this. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to protect you.”

Vlad still smelled of Tide original scented laundry detergent. He breathed in the scent. He was starting to believe that Vlad didn’t want to hurt him; but he was still afraid. What if gaining his trust was all sort of his master plan? Did it matter if it was? He’d agreed to it when he came here. 

“You’re doing a good job,” Danny muttered. He was. Despite his fear, he felt his heart rate slowing. Sitting in Vlad’s arms was comfortable and he didn’t want to leave. He hadn’t been held like this in years. He’d avoided his parents because of his ghost half; his parents didn’t want him anyway. But Vlad accepted his ghost half and it was the first kind and gentle touch he’d had in months. 

Vlad must have heard him. 

“Thank you,” He said. “I mean what I say, Daniel, I will not hurt you. You came to me in need and I want to help. I know it’s easier said then done, but I don’t want you to worry. I’ll protect you. And I swear Daniel, I swear that you are safe here.” 

Danny started crying again, thinking of his dad. He missed Jack Fenton. 

“Daniel, what is it? Did I say something?”

“I want to go home,” He whispered. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call your parents?”

“I’m sure,” A sob broke his train his thought. Before he could help it, words were tumbling from his mouth. “I can’t go home.” 

“Why?”

He buried his face in Vlad’s chest, feeling a little bad that he was getting tears on his expensive shirt. 

“They’ll kill me Vlad!” He cried. “They hate me.” 

“Daniel, I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is. My mother… she…she was there! I tried to tell her who I was, so she’d stop but she didn’t believe me! She hated me!” 

“Wait, what?” Vlad asked, raising his head to look at him. “Slow down, little badger.”

Danny shook his head. This hurt, he couldn’t explain again. 

“Daniel. Are you saying that this whole time you were missing, you were held prisoner by your mother?”

“The GIW hired her.” 

There was a soft gasp from the larger man. He tightened his arms around him. 

“I am so sorry,” Vlad said. “Thank you for telling me. For trusting me with that information.”

Danny sobbed into Vlad’s chest, holding onto him for dear life. 

“I wish I had some advice, or something helpful to say,” Vlad started. “I know that being here with me isn’t ideal, but you are welcome here. I encourage you to make this place your home. I will respect you, and believe you, and protect you and….and I’ll love you the way a father should love his son. I promise.”

Danny sobbed again. 

“I know I’m not the same,” Vlad continued. “I can never replace your parents, and I’m sorry I ever tried. But I am here for you.”

“Are you gonna go after her?” Danny asked. “You said you would the last time I woke up.”

“Only if you want me to. I want you to be in control of your own life, little badger.”

Danny nodded. 

“Daniel, can I ask you something? Something that I know is really uncomfortable? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Danny nodded, hesitating. Not answering questions meant pain. 

“Did anything _else_ happen?”

Danny tensed. He knew what Vlad meant. 

“I saw bruising, and I…” Vlad hesitated “you don’t have to tell me….just was it your mother who did that to you?”

Danny shook his head. 

“She…she had these goons. They tortured me before she got there. And she would order them to do things and she would take notes. They…they would come back and do things when she wasn’t taking notes…I…I don’t think she knew about that.”

He trailed off. He didn’t want to continue. He was mortified and ashamed that Vlad knew. That there had been marks. 

“Thank you, that took a lot of courage,” Vlad whispered to him.

Danny was blushing. He was so embarrassed, he just wanted to turn intangible and never go back. He realized with horror that he couldn’t connect with his ghost core. There was no turning intangible. 

“I’m sorry,” Danny said into Vlad’s shirt. He couldn’t face Vlad.

“Don’t apologize,” Vlad said. “None of this was your fault. I know you’re embarrassed, and I can’t say anything to change that, but you don’t have anything to be ashamed of. You are so brave.”

“I wasn’t brave, Vlad! I begged for them to stop, I would have done anything!”

“You do what you have to do to survive. You were afraid, and you met that fear. Like you said, you’d do anything to survive.”

“I thought I was going to die! And then I didn’t because they didn’t let me! Vlad, I wanted to die!”

“Do you still feel that way?”

Danny sighed and looked down at his lap. “Sometimes, when I can’t get up or move on my own and I need your help. I’m hindering you and it’s embarrassing and I’m weak. But…but you’re being really kind to me and maybe things will be okay, and I’m really scared of dying. But I also feel so alone and I’m scared and I know you keep saying I’m safe but I just can’t feel safe right now. I never answered your question.” Danny flinched and tensed all his muscles again. “N-no, not anymore. For the most part.”

Vlad squeezed his shoulders again. 

“I know you don’t want hear this,” Vlad said. “But, you can’t help how you feel. But you face your emotions, even the unpleasant ones. You know you need help and you seek it out. Do you feel any better? Getting it off your chest?”

“Not really…” Danny answered. “I’m scared of you judging me, or taking advantage of my weakness.”

“I am doing neither of those things. I am judging your mother and her goons. But not you. I’m just accepting what you’re telling me. And I don’t think you’re weak. I don’t think tears, or wanting me to hold you is weak, in fact I think it shows your strength, that you can let yourself feel these feelings, and let me in, and work through them.” 

“Are you just saying this to be supportive?”

“I am saying it, yes, to be supportive. But. I also say it because I believe it. I believe in you and you need someone to believe in you right now. I wouldn’t tell you anything that’s not true.”

“Am I bothering you? Do you have other things you should be doing?”

“No.” Vlad answered easily. “Being here for you, and helping you get through this is the most important thing to me. There is nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

Danny smiled. It was his first real smile in months. 

“Besides, I am being a little selfish, I like holding you,” Vlad said. “It calms you down, and it comforts you. Which makes me feel better. Like I am helping. I was worried that I should just hire someone after the last time you woke up,” Vlad went back to combing his fingers through Danny’s hair. “This is what I imagine when I imagine being a dad, I mean, minus the injury and trauma of course, but holding your children, being there for them, helping them through rough times. Being the one person that they can turn to. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I guess this is good for both of us.” 

“I don’t know why I told you all this,” Danny laughed nervously, looking up at him. “I’d never tell my dad any of this.”

“Dad’s are weird,” Vlad said. “You want to impress them constantly. And you worry any feeling will set them off.”

“How do you know all this?” Danny demanded. 

“I had a father once. I was your age and feared my parents. Not to the same extent, you have a much more valid and intense reason for your feelings then I did, but I can at least relate.”

“Vlad,” Danny looked up at him, meeting his dark eyes. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, little badger.”

“I think we’re both starved for physical attention too,” Danny said, again laughing nervously. 

“That is another good point,” Vlad said. “What a pair, huh?” 

“Yeah.” 

...

Danny was screaming. Vlad jolted awake in his chair and jumped up to turn on the light. 

“VLAD!” Danny screamed. “VLAD, STOP!”

Vlad shook the boy’s shoulder, assuming he was asleep and having a nightmare.

“VLAD! YOU PROMISED!” 

Danny looked up at him with agonized blue eyes. 

“Are you awake?”

“Yes,” he sobbed. 

“What’s wrong? Where is your pain?”

“It’s everywhere.”

“I can get you some pain meds.”

Danny screamed again, curling in on himself. 

Vlad quickly looked the boy up and down again, searching for anything that could be causing him this pain. He noticed his shoulder had a red blip of light coming from under her skin. 

“Butter biscuits!” Vlad said aloud. He didn’t have time to get a knife or get anything to ease Danny’s pain. 

“Daniel, I’m sorry about this. There’s something in your back, I need to get it out.”

He turned into Plasmius and extended a clawed finger. He sliced open the area at Danny’s back. Danny cried out again, trembling violently. 

Vlad reached his fingers into the wound and grasped the small, rectangle. Danny went silent and relaxed into Vlad’s arms. Vlad sighed, glad he had passed out. 

Vlad pulled out the chip. He could feel it pulsating between his fingers. What was this? He assumed it was a tracking chip, but why could it also be used to torture him? These people never failed to disgust him. 

He needed to get it as far away from here as possible. He teleported to Montana. It was about as far as he could manage on such short notice, in his frazzled state of mind. He found an 18 wheeler driving by and Vlad stuck the tracker to the truck. 

He teleported back to the room with Danny. The new cut was bleeding profusely. 

What now? 

They knew Danny was here. They’d be able to tell that he’d been here for days. They’d come and question him.   
He thought for a moment, trying to calm his pounding heart. 

He went into his lab where there were jars of Danny’s ectoplasm. He took as many as he could carry into his backyard. He went over the hill, out of view of his house. He flew around his garden, looking for a large bush that would suit his needs. He made sure not to leave any footsteps. Vlad threw himself into his largest bush to destroy it, making it look like someone had landed in his bush. He poured all the ectoplasm he had onto the bush, which sizzled in response. 

His landscaper was going to kill him. 

When they came knocking on his door, Vlad would let them search his property, more than willingly. They’d find the bush, and Vlad would feign ignorance. Danny must have crashed there and rested in it for a few days before getting his strength back to fly or teleport to Montana. Hopefully the truck would be a wild goose chase. They’d find it and realize that Danny had pulled it out. They’d lose him. Maybe then, Danny would finally be safe. 

Vlad went back to Danny’s room, and turned back to his human form. There was blood all over his hands. Danny was still awkwardly sprawled on his side, his face still contorted in a grimace of pain. Vlad gently cleaned out the wound on his back, covered it with Neosporin and wrapped it in gauze. Once again, he was glad Danny was unconscious. That was a deep cut. 

Vlad went to the bathroom and washed his hands, scrubbing the blood and dirt out from under his nails. He changed his clothes, into comfier pajamas. He’d fallen asleep next to Danny. He rubbed his neck; his entire back was aching from sleeping in that chair for nights on end. 

He sat on the bed next to Danny and ran his fingers through his hair. He was too stressed to sleep now. He kept imagining a knock on his door. It was close to two in the morning; and he knew no sane person would come to ask him questions at this hour. He was worried about Danny. He’d woken up in agony and didn’t know why. He’d assumed Vlad had hurt him. This could be a terrible set back in gaining his trust. 

It was closer to five when Danny came to. He jolted awake and looked over at Vlad. The sun was beginning to rise and his room glowed blue in the dim light. 

“Vlad?” He asked. He flinched as he tried to move, recognizing the new pain in his shoulder. 

“Easy,” Vlad said. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know. What…what happened?” 

Vlad’s chest was heavy and tight as he saw the fear in Danny’s eyes. 

“You woke up, you were screaming,” Vlad said. “I didn’t know what to do. But I saw a red light in your shoulder. It was under the skin.”

Danny looked up at him in confusion and terror. 

“I got it out. There was a chip.”

“Can they find me? It isn’t safe here!” Danny tried to get up again. Vlad put his hand on his shoulder, easily holding the boy down. 

“I took care of it.”

“What’d you do?”

“I got rid of it.”

“They’ll still know I was here, they’ll come to check it out!”

“I took care of that too. I…um…from my days as your arch enemy I had some jars of your ectoplasm. I took a fly threw my private garden and crashed into a bush. I poured your ectoplasm all over it. When the GIW come to investigate, I’ll them search the property, not the house,” he added quickly.

“Will that be enough?”

“It should be. It gives them an answer. Hopefully it’ll lead them away, I mean, Phantom could have crashed anywhere, just happened to be in the mayor’s backyard.”

“What if it’s not though?”

“Then my lawyers will fight the government on this one. They have no reason to search my house or badger us further.”

“They can sense my ghost energy.”

“Not in my house. Why do you think they’ve never come after me? This mansion blocks out all ghost transmissions. Including signals from other half ghosts and from the portal.”

Danny looked up at him, and the hope in his eyes was inspiring. 

Vlad yawned and Danny met his eyes. Vlad smiled at him. 

“How long have you been awake?” Danny asked. 

“Since about two. I was really worried about you,” Vlad responded. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Have you slept at all?” Danny asked. 

“Yeah, I got a couple hours.”

“A couple, as in two?” 

“Sounds right.”

Danny looked down, almost guiltily. 

“Daniel, can I wrap my arm around you?” Vlad asked. “And don’t you worry, I am getting plenty of rest.”

Danny nodded at him. 

Vlad slowly put his arm around Danny’s small shoulders and pulled him close to his side. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said. Danny looked up at him. “I’m sorry about the new wound on your back. You’re in too much pain already and I feel terrible.”

“You’re good,” he whispered. “I’m glad the chip is gone.”

“Me too.”

The two sat in silence for a long time. 

“Daniel,” Vlad started. “I need to lay down, just for a bit.” He went to move Danny off him. 

“No, please don’t!” Danny cried. “I was starting to fall asleep too…I can’t sleep if you’re not there…And I’m scared the GIW will come.”

“I’ll protect you, little badger.”

Vlad gently lay Danny back down, who began sobbing. Vlad went to the other side of the bed and climbed in, staying above the covers. He was always too warm for blankets. He stretched his arm around Danny, pulling him close again. Danny rested his head on his arm. 

“Can we compromise?” Vlad asked. “I’m old and my back hurts.”

Danny nodded, relaxing into his side. Vlad rolled onto his own side, cradling Danny against him. 

“Are you sure this is okay?” Vlad asked. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” 

Danny hummed softly. Vlad could feel him calming down, relaxing as sleep slowly overtook him. Once his little badger was asleep, Vlad joined him almost instantly.


	5. Chapter 5

Vlad was woken by Danny shaking him. 

“What? What it is?” He asked, immediately on high alert. 

“There’s someone knocking on your door.” His voice was shaking and his eyes were wild and teary.

Vlad bolted out of bed, and got his tablet on the nightstand. He checked the front door camera. It was two men, one black one white both wearing white suits with black ties. He looked at his clock. 9:30 am. This was too early to be going door to door.

Danny looked over at the tablet. Vlad saw his entire demeanor change. This boy was going to panic.

“I’m gonna go take care of it,” Vlad said, putting his hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Wolf, if the next person to enter this room is not me, maul them.” Wolf nodded. “And Daniel. If it’s not me, do what you have to do, and we’ll figure it out.”

Danny nodded. His fear was infectious.

“Daniel,” Vlad said, a little more sternly than he would have liked. “It’s going to be okay.”

Vlad went into the hall. He was on high alert but also exhausted again. He yawned and opened the communication line on his tablet.

“Hello?” Vlad asked. His voice was groggy with sleep.

“Hello sir; we didn’t wake you did we?”

“You did. What do you want?”

“We have some questions about some ectoplasmic contamination.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Vlad went to his front door and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

“Oh, Mr. Masters,” One of them said.

Vlad simply looked at them, mustering the most annoyed look he could. It wasn’t hard.

“Then you’re aware of the ghost Phantom,” The other said. “We’ve been tracking him recently and our computers tell us that he was here.”

“Well, that’s bizarre.”

“If it’s okay, we’d like to take a look around.”

“Alright,” Vlad yawned again.

“Late night?”

“You have no idea.”

Vlad accompanied them around his front yard and then into his backyard. One of them had scanners and equipment to search for Danny. He noticed the other carried weapons.

“Come to think of it,” Vlad added, breaking the silence, “I haven’t seen Phantom around town, or gone through any reports regarding it in a while. Is that your doing?”

“We’ve kept him out of Amity Park, Mr. Masters.”

Why were they keeping Danny’s imprisonment a secret?

“Do you want to search my garden too? I haven’t been back there in a few weeks, my landscaper takes care of it.”

“Yes, sir, we would very much like to search there too.”

Vlad let them into his private garden, giddy about then finding the bush he had made. He idly chatted about his garden, the hydrangeas and roses he grew. The garden was pristine, but it felt empty, as its owner never came to look at it.

The scanner started beeping quickly. The two men in white started running deeper into the garden. Vlad picked up the pace but did not run to meet them. He was too tired for that and wearing slippers.

When he found them, they were huddled around the bush Vlad had destroyed last night.

“What the…?” he said aloud. The bush looked terrible in the daylight. The leaves were burnt and still smoking. Ectoplasm was pooling underneath the plant, turning brown in the rising sun.

He rushed over to see the damage for himself. One of the two was taking ectoplasm samples and running experiments on them. The other was searching the garden, weapons drawn.

“The ghost was certainly here. This is all his ectoplasm.”

“There’s no sign of him in the rest of the garden. No trail or anything either.” The two reconvened and whispered quietly. Vlad could only hear them because of his heightened ghost hearing.

“He probably fell out of the sky. In his state, I’m surprised he was able to fly this far.”

“But where did he go next? Did he just lay in this bush for four days?”

“Look at all the ectoplasm. There’s liters of it. He must have been here for days for all this ectoplasm to be here.”

“Perhaps he healed himself. He would need time to overcome his injuries. He probably crash landed, recovered, then flew off once he got his strength back.”

The two men turned back to Vlad.

“Mr. Masters, have you seen any flashes of green light, or heard anything?”

“No,” Vlad said. “It’s been hot out, I’ve been staying indoors. I’ve been busy with work as well, I haven’t been outside.”

The two went back to their secret conversation.

“Do think he’s lying?”

“No, he’s the owner of many companies, I believe he’s busy. And the weather does check out.”

“He’s right about not being in the garden recently either.”

“There’s no footsteps. Phantom fell out of the sky.”

“They’ve got a signal!”

“Where?”

“

Going about 75 miles per hour west in Montana.”

“We’re on the way.”

“Mr. Masters, thank you for letting us search your grounds. We’re sorry for waking you.”

“That is quite alright. I hope you find the menace to society.”

“We will.” They assured.

“Do you need anything else?”

“No, we should be going. We got a signal on Phantom.”

“Oh good. If you need anything else, please feel free to check in, but later in the day.”

“Of course, sir. Sorry again.”

Vlad led them out to the front yard. He made sure they drove off before going back inside. He checked himself for any bugs or chips they may have placed on him. He didn’t find any. Regardless he went to take pictures of the bush, and called his lawyer, just to inform him of the GIW visit. He wanted to be protected against them coming back and documentation was crucial. They would not be permitted back.

He went to Danny’s room and knocked.

“Daniel? It’s me, Vlad.”

“Prove it,” Vlad was proud about how strong Danny sounded through the door. He knew it was a front though.

“I fell back asleep at like five am last night and can’t think of anything else witty to prove it’s me.”

“What’s your nickname for me?”

“Little badger, can I come in now?”

“Come in.”

Danny was looking at him with wide, blue eyes.

“They’re gone,” Vlad said. “They fell for it hook line and sinker. They ran off to search for a quickly moving signal in Montana.”

“Will they be back?”

“Hopefully not. Ideally they will assume you just crashed here. I’ve also called my lawyers to document their presence. If they try to come back, they will be met by them and not me. Files of harassment and trespassing, among other things.

Danny didn’t look sold.

“And if things get hairy, they’ll also meet the Wisconsin ghost, his demon wolf, and a healed Phantom. They can’t take all three of us.”

“I’m sure they could. There’s more of them.”

“Yes. But You have a ghostly wail. We have tens of superpowers between the two of us. We can also call on the frozen yeti people. Or unleash havoc from my portal. We have options. We also have a massive castle guarding us. Ever seen Game Of Thrones? It’s an advantage.”

“You watch Game Of Thrones?” Danny asked.

“Yes and read all the books.”

“I’ve only seen the show. I’ve started the books, I know Dorne is way better in the books but I’ve been busy. And the books are really long.”

“I can get them for you to read if you want. I’ll let you use my reader. They’re heavy books.”

Danny smiled at him.

“I’m glad we have something in common. Besides you know, being half dead.”

Vlad chuckled. “There’s so much I don’t know about you little badger. We should work on that.”

“Yeah, I don’t know much about you either.”

...

Danny awoke with a start. He recognized the tightness in his throat, the contractions in his gut. He needed to puke. He needed to pee too, and he knew that was urgent, but wasn’t his top priority. 

He looked around the room. There were two doors on the other side of the room, and he knew one of them had to be a bathroom. The door to the right was the door Vlad came in and out of and led to the castle. 

He looked over at wolf. Wolf was staring at him intently. 

Danny took a deep breath and tried to push himself up, using his left arm as a brace. The pain was overwhelming and he thought he’d give in right there. Wolf gently nuzzled him to sitting. Danny was panting. Wolf came to the other side of the bed. Danny swung his feet around and stood up. 

Thank God for Wolf, because he fell right over. Spots suddenly clouded his vision and the vertigo only made the nausea more prominent. Wolf caught him and helped him remain upright. His right leg couldn’t support his weight. He also realized it was bound to a wooden board. 

Danny shrieked aloud. What was Vlad doing to him? And why didn’t he ever feel the splint? There was a bulky bundle of fabric tied around his waist, like underwear of some kind. 

A diaper?

“What the fuck, Vlad,” Danny cursed. Talking was a terrible idea. The movement in his throat brought up the contents of his stomach. Danny hurried over to the further door. Wolf helped him limp over. 

He wasn’t going to make it. He swallowed it down, but that only made it worse. 

Danny dropped to his hands and knees and finally vomited. It took the force of his entire body to bring it all up. Round one stopped, but he knew it wasn’t over yet. Danny was shaking and gasping for air. There was a terrible taste in his mouth of old acid and blood. Danny wiped his mouth and there was blood on his hand. 

His breathing quickened. He looked down at the contents of his stomach. It was all blood. 

He needed to clean this up before Vlad got here. Vlad would kill him for ruining his carpet. He looked helplessly at wolf for something to help him. 

He heard footsteps outside the door.

“No, no, he’s gonna kill me,” Danny moaned. 

He felt it come up again. He was at it again when Vlad came over to him. 

“Daniel!” Vlad gasped. Gentle hands touched his shoulders as Vlad knelt beside him. 

The stomach spasms were painful. He couldn’t quite bring up everything he needed, but his body didn’t quit. He had a headache from his scattered breathing. Vlad silently pulled his hair away from his face. 

He started coughing and sprayed blood out of his mouth. 

After what seemed like hours he was finally done.

“I’m sorry,” Danny wheezed, keeping his face away from Vlad. He was still on all fours and was shaking. He couldn’t hold himself up much longer. 

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry,” Vlad said kindly. “We should go to a hospital.”

“NO!” Danny gasped. “Please, I’ll be fine.”

“Daniel.”

Danny shook his head. 

“C’mon, lets get you back into bed.”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“You’re wearing a diaper for a reason.”

“Like hell I’m using a diaper. Please just help me get to the bathroom.”

Danny flinched, he shouldn’t have spoken to Vlad that way. 

“What did you do while you were at the GIW?” 

Tears welled in Danny’s eyes. “I shit myself, okay? I had no choice, they kept me tied down. Just please help me get to the bathroom.”

He finally braved looking up at Vlad. Vlad’s lips were pursed and he looked…aggravated? Concerned? Proud? Danny couldn’t tell. 

“I’ll clean this up, I’m sorry about the carpet,” Danny stuttered. 

“I don’t care about the carpet.”

Vlad turned his entire castle intangible to clean up. He helped Danny stand. Danny swayed again. Wolf was also there to help him. 

“Can I at least carry you there?” Vlad asked. “The two of us getting you in there is ridiculous.”

Danny nodded, his cheeks glowing with embarrassment. He wanted to prove that he could walk there, that he was still strong, but he knew he couldn’t. He let Vlad pick him up and carry him into the bathroom. It was all pastel blue tile and porcelain. There was a jacuzzi and a shower big enough for five. There was a huge vanity and a towel warmer? 

Vlad helped get the diaper off and set Danny on the toilet. The floor was warm. 

“This is the nicest bathroom I’ve ever seen,” Danny said. 

“Mine is bigger,” Vlad bragged. “But I figured at least one guest room needed a master bath.” 

Vlad looked at him expectantly. 

“You can leave,” Danny said. 

“I can’t. You are barely conscious and there are many hard surfaces in here that could break your head open if you fell.” 

“Can you at least look away, or something?” 

Vlad sighed and turned around. 

Danny did his business and cleaned himself with the plush toilet paper Vlad had in there. 

_Spoiled Millionaire_ Danny thought to himself. Danny pulled himself up and flushed. Vlad was there in a second to help him. Danny blushed again. He reached for a towel and tried to tie it around his waist with his one good hand. 

Vlad’s gaze softened a little. He helped Danny tie it, and then went to pick up Danny. 

“Wait?”

“What now?”

“I need to wash my hands.”

“Butter biscuits, Daniel”

“It’s your sheets, not mine,” Danny retorted. 

Vlad helped him stand at the sink. Danny spent way too long scrubbing at his fingers and feeling the water run over his hand. It was slow going with only one hand. But it felt good, a little normalcy in his world that had been completely upended. It was the only part of his body that almost felt clean. 

“Are you good now?” Vlad asked. He was struggling to keep his voice gentle. 

Danny nodded. Vlad scooped him into his arms, carrying him bridal style back to the bed. 

“Wait, you can’t.”

“Why not?” Vlad asked. 

“I’m not clean, I’ll make the sheets dirty and it’ll be gross.”

“Daniel, you’re fine.”

“Are you mad at me?” Danny felt tears well in his eyes, as well as a deep fear. If he’d angered Vlad, who knew what he’d do? But he also felt immense guilt. Vlad was doing so much for him and this was how he repaid him? Why did he care so much about Vlad?

“What?” Vlad asked. “No, no, I’m not angry.”

“You seem angry,” Danny whimpered. 

“I’m just worried. I really should take you to a hospital.”

“Do you just not want to take care of me? It’s okay if you don’t. I wouldn’t ask that of you. I’ll make it on my own now, if you want.”

“DANIEL!” Vlad gasped. He was gently placed on the bed, despite the harshness in Vlad’s voice. “Daniel,” He said again. Danny had never seen the man at such a loss for words. “I’m happy to take care of you. I said that because you were vomiting blood and can’t move on your own. I can’t help that and it worries me!”

Vlad pulled the covers over him. 

“And, and” Vlad was still struggling to speak. “You most certainly will not make it on your own, and if you leave….”

“Are you threatening me?” Danny asked, his voice weak. 

Vlad’s gaze changed. He seemed to come out of it, visibly shaking his head. 

“I’m sorry, Daniel,” Vlad sat down next to him. “I’m not threatening you, I swear.” Vlad’s gaze was searching his desperately. “I’m just worried. I’ve never cared about anyone the way I care about you and I don’t know how to deal with that. And every moment you’re not safely in bed, the odds of you getting more hurt increases. I can’t do enough to help you as is, I don’t know what I’d do if you got worse.” 

Danny was sobbing. 

“And I don’t know what I’d do if you left. I love having you here, and obviously I’d like it if you were better. But you won’t make it on your own, and I’d go crazy with worry if you left. But you can leave if you don’t want to be here. I don’t want to keep you here against your will or make you uncomfortable. I’m just trying to help.” 

Danny nodded. 

“I swear I won’t hurt you. I won’t threaten or coerce or anything. I’m sorry if you thought I was trying to do any of those things. I’m just frustrated that I can’t do more to help you.” 

“I know,” Danny whispered. “You’ve been so nice to me.”

“And I will continue to be nice.”

“I’m sorry. I shouted at you, I thought you were angry, I should have just let you help me, and,”

“Daniel,” Vlad slowly put his hand on Danny’s. “I’m not angry and you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I’m sorry. I think my own anxiety is projecting onto situations like this.”

Vlad smiled at him. “It most certainly is. But that’s nothing to apologize for. I can only begin to understand what happened, or how you’re feeling and I will be patient, and I’ll do a better job at that. And I’ll just keep reminding you that’s safe and wanted here.” 

“I’m sorry that you have to take care of me like this. I really will leave if you don’t want to have me.”

“I want you here. I want to take care of you and help you get better.”

Danny nodded. 

“I don’t want to worry you, but if this gets worse, I will take you to the hospital. I promise I’ll handle everything and protect you. That’s not because I don’t want you but because I know you need real medical attention.”

Danny nodded again. He would just have to get better so Vlad wouldn’t have to take him there. He would just work harder at it. 

“And Daniel.”

Danny looked up at him. 

“I clean you every night, to clean the wounds. You don’t have to worry about the sheets or being clean, or anything.”

Danny looked away. Even if he was clean, he certainly didn’t feel that way. Nothing Vlad could say would change that. 

“Do you want any soup or anything?”

“I can’t eat,” Danny said. 

Vlad nodded. He didn’t argue. Danny wasn’t sure if he appreciated that or not. 

“Do you want anything?”

“Will you just stay with me?” Danny asked. 

“Of course.”


	6. chapter 6

Vlad had taken up reading by Danny’s bedside. He’d missed it; he normally read so many reports and typed up so many emails that he usually wasn’t in the mood to read. He’d been working from home, all his emails were answered, all the reports for the day were handled. It was forcing him to delegate more, and he quite enjoyed it. 

Aside from the painful worry he had over Danny. 

Danny slept most of the time. Vlad had him propped up against pillows and the headboard to ease his breathing. But propping him up didn’t ease his coughing any. 

Danny started coughing again, and Vlad looked over his book to see him. These coughs didn’t subside like they normally did. 

Vlad had stood up and crossed the small distance between the chair and the bed in a second.

“Little badger?”

Danny’s eyes opened, but they were unfocused. His eyes were dilated wide with fear, and he looked around the room frantically. He was still coughing. 

“Daniel, breathe,” Vlad said. He reached out a hand to pat Danny’s shoulder. Danny screamed, but the sound was lost in his coughing. “Daniel, it’s okay, you’re okay, just breath.”

Vlad sat next to him, making sure to stay far enough away that he wasn’t overwhelming him. 

“Little badger, can you hear me?” He asked. 

Danny was crying and cowering into the pillows. He’d pulled both of his arms to his chest and had tried to pull his legs up as well. He was still coughing. 

“Please…air,” he choked out. 

Should he pat Danny’s back? With the wounds there, it would be agony, but Danny needed to breathe. He was starting to turn blue. 

Vlad pounded on Danny’s back as hard as he dared. 

Danny recoiled as spasms racked his body, but the coughing stopped. 

“Little, badger, can you hear me?”

Danny stilled, quivering in anticipation. 

“Hey, it’s Vlad. It’s just me. You’re in my mansion remember?” 

Danny didn’t answer, still tense against the pillows. Tears were leaking down his cheeks, but his eyes were squeezed shut. 

“Daniel, can you look at me?” Vlad asked. “You’re safe, you are safe, I promise.” 

Danny tentatively opened his eyes. They were still panic stricken. He looked at Vlad, then around the room until realization seemed to dawn on him. 

“Are you okay?” Vlad asked. 

“Wh-what happened?” 

“Coughing fit,” Vlad said slowly, running his fingers through Danny’s hair. “And maybe a bit of a panic attack too.”

“I couldn’t breathe.” 

“You’re safe here. You will always have air, and everything you need.”

Danny looked down at his hands, which were still cradled close to his chest. 

“You don’t have to worry about that again,” Vlad said, kicking himself for bringing up Danny’s imprisonment. 

Danny nodded though. Another cough racked his small frame and Vlad realized just how thin he was. Vlad gently rubbed small circles with his thumb on the teen’s shoulder. It seemed to be the only part of him that had escaped injury. Even then, he knew there must still be pain and healed injuries. 

He hated that he feared breaking Danny further. He couldn’t live with himself he caused him more pain. 

“I’m sorry,” Danny whispered.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Vlad said. He was stern but kept his voice gentle. “I don’t want you to apologize for anything, dear boy. None of this was your fault. Do you understand?”

Danny nodded, but Vlad could tell he didn’t believe it. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked. 

Danny looked up at him, his eyes wide again. Vlad hated that that kind of behavior had been drilled into him.

“Are you still having trouble breathing?” 

Danny looked away and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. 

“I just want to help,” Vlad said. “I won’t take you to a hospital.”

Danny nodded. 

Vlad frowned. He could have guessed the answer, but it pained him that Danny was still suffering. The breathing was an issue, and the hospital really was the best option. But he knew Danny was in danger and in a very fragile state of mind. Gaining his trust was hard enough and taking him to the hospital would destroy everything Vlad had worked to obtain. 

Danny coughed again, blocking his mouth in his right elbow. Vlad noticed there were spots of blood on his arm.

Vlad swallowed nervously. Danny either didn’t see it or did a good job feigning ignorance. 

“How about some water?” Vlad asked. 

Danny nodded at him. “Thank you.”

Vlad went to the small fridge he’d bought and placed in Danny’s room. He pulled out a cold pitcher and brought it to the nightstand. 

“I could have gotten it,” Danny murmured quietly.

“Are you sure about that?” Vlad asked. 

Danny blushed and looked back down at his hands. 

“Little badger, look at me,” Vlad said gently, handing Danny a small glass of water. 

Danny took a sip and met Vlad’s gaze. 

“Please, let me help you. It’s the least I can do for you.” 

Danny continued taking small sips of the water. 

Vlad watched as eye lids were drooping and his gaze was growing far away again. 

“How about we let you get back to bed?” Vlad asked. “You need your rest.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Daniel, you need sleep. Your body is injured, and you underwent a terrible trauma. You need to heal, and to do that you need to sleep. None of this is your fault, and I want to take care of you. Okay?”

Danny nodded. “Will you stay?”

“Of course, dear boy,” Vlad answered easily, placing his hand on Danny’s shoulder again. “Let’s get you laying down. I’ll get a humidifier as well, maybe that’ll help with the cough.”

Vlad took the half full cup and placed it on the nightstand. He helped maneuver Danny so he was reclining against the pillows again. Vlad sat next to him, keeping a supportive hand on his shoulder. 

“Rest now,” Vlad said, voice soft and kind. “It’s okay now. I’ll be here the whole time.” 

Vlad held him and soothed him with kind words until Danny was asleep a few minutes later. 

...

“I’d like to clean out your wounds and change your bandages. But it’s going to hurt like hell and I don’t want to put you through that,” Vlad said. 

“How often do you do this?”

“Usually once in the late morning, then again before bed. Once the wounds heal a little I’ll go down to just at night.”

“Where do you do this? How?”

“I usually take you down to my lab. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s the easiest way to clean you without getting soaked myself or causing you more injury.”

Danny nodded. 

“Would you like a sleeping pill? Or I have an invention from my arch enemy days that can knock you out for a few hours if you’d like.”

“No, I…I want to see what you’re doing.”

Vlad felt a little guilty that Danny still didn’t trust him. 

“I’m going to turn into Plasmius, and pick you up alright?” He asked. “I need to be in ghost form to access my lab.”  
Danny nodded, but his eyes widened in fear. 

Vlad transformed into the ghost half. He slowly approached Danny and placed a hand under his knees and another around his back. Danny melted into Vlad’s strong arms as he was lifted off the bed. He was comfortable like this. His arms were still, no tremoring or twitching with the effort. Why was he so strong? Danny tried to support himself, at least sit a little upright.

“Relax, little badger,” Vlad said softly, “I have you.” 

Danny allowed himself to relax again, letting Vlad cradle him against his chest. 

He recognized the feeling of turning intangible as Vlad floated downwards through his house to the private ghost lab. 

He slowly lay Danny on the table, once again disappointed to let the boy out of his grasp.  
...  
Danny did not like the table. It was cold, the metal biting into his skin and making him shiver. It reminded him too much of the tables he was strapped to at the GIW. The instruments around the room looked like torture instruments and Danny was terrified. He could feel himself sweating and his breathing becoming shallower as he looked around. The room smelled of rubbing alcohol and sterile technique. The lights were unnatural and bright. The fluorescence hurt his eyes and made his head pound. 

He felt exposed. He was cold and naked, and this brought back terrible feelings and memories. Vlad wordlessly placed a towel over his waist and Danny was grateful for the coverage. 

“Vlad, I can’t,” He whispered. “I’m scared, I want to go back.” He started babbling. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said. “Nothing in this room will ever hurt you. I won’t be here very long. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable but I do need to clean out your wounds. Are you sure you want to stay awake as I do this? It’s going to be agony.”

“How bad? On a scale of 1 to 10?”

“10. You know how bad open wounds hurt and your body is covered in them.”

Danny was shaking. “What exactly are you going to do?”

“First I’m going to remove all the bandages. It will sting a lot because the wounds are still bleeding and have stuck to the bandages. Then I’m going to wash them out all out. I’ll start with your chest because I’m still worried about hypothermia and shock. I trust that you’re out of the woods now, but I’m still worried about these things.”

“Do you clean everywhere?”

“Yes. I don’t touch anything, I only spray with the shower head, and dab some soap where it’s needed. I do shampoo your hair though, which requires touching.” 

“Then what?” Danny asked. 

“Then I put Neosporin on the wider, shallower wounds. I also have a cream that I put on the some of the deeper wounds. Then I put the pads back on and wrap them in gauze to hold them in place. Then I’ll bring you back upstairs to sleep. Jeff is changing the sheets as we speak.”

Danny nodded. 

“Are you sure about this?” Vlad asked. 

Danny nodded again. 

“Okay, let’s make a deal. How about when this gets to be too much, or you don’t want to hurt anymore, you tell me and I’ll put you to sleep. Only for an hour or so.”

“Okay,” he answered. 

Danny winced as Vlad slowly and gingerly pulled off all the bandages. The ones around his back were the worst. They were still very raw. Vlad’s hands were shaking as he did this, scared of hurting the poor boy. 

Vlad gently turned on the water, tested the temperature on his own arm. Once he decided it was warm, but not too hot, he lowered it to a deep wound on his chest. Every time he did this, he wondered what could possibly happened to cause each injury. It looked like they’d whipped his chest too but not as severely as his back. 

Danny shrieked in pain. The stinging was horrendous. Black spots suddenly danced across vision. He was shaking and crying. Vlad immediately pulled the water away, and a gentle hand ran through his hair. 

The stinging took a long time to diminish. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said sternly. “I promised to let you be in control, but I can’t do this. This is going to be torture and I can’t do that to you. I promise I’m only doing what I told you, but you can’t be awake. It’ll hurt too bad. I’m going to put you to sleep. I’ll be there when you wake, I promise.”

“Okay,” Danny whimpered, feeling the last of the stinging completely subside. 

“Okay?” Vlad asked. He hadn’t expected the boy to consent.

Danny hummed, keeping his eyes closed tight. The pain, the smell, the feel of the table; it was all too much. All he wanted was to black out and Vlad was offering that to him. 

Vlad lowered a mask over his nose and mouth. Danny briefly panicked and looked up at Vlad. Was he poisoning him? What was this?

Vlad ran a hand through his hair, quietly soothing him. Danny relaxed and breathed in the gas. It smelled like bubble gum, but like tainted, too strong, dentist’s bubblegum. He could taste it too.

“Daniel, what’s your favorite animal?” 

“Turtle,” He whispered. So far, he couldn’t feel any of the effects, even though he was breathing in deeply. 

“Why?”

“It’s the only reptile I’ll touch. And I once heard a quote….” But Danny was out before he could finish. 

...

It was late afternoon when Vlad started to worry. He knew Danny was capable of sleeping for extremely long periods of time, but this was too much. 

Danny was pale and his breath was coming in shallow gasps. The dark bags under his eyes hadn’t gone away. Vlad laid the back of his hand on Danny’s forehead. It was hot. He’d had a fever since he arrived, but this was higher than normal. 

He went and searched for a thermometer. He found one in his medicine cabinet. He returned and stuck it under Danny’s tongue. 103. 

Vlad looked at the thermometer in disbelief. That couldn’t be right. And Danny had an ice core; his temperature was always lower than normal.

Vlad rolled Danny over and undid the bandages around his chest. The wounds on his back were starting to fester.  
Vlad felt his heartrate quicken. He was suddenly scared that Danny was going to die again. And this time he had no one to blame but himself. He hadn’t brought him to a hospital, like a responsible parent. He’d known some of the wounds were infected, but he had hoped Danny would be able to fight it off. Now he worried it was too late. 

Vlad wrapped him in a blanket from the closet and easily lifted him, holding him close to his chest. His mind was racing, but he couldn’t seem to connect any of the threads together. All he knew was that Danny was shivering and burning up at the same time. 

“Stay with me Daniel,” He whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t do this sooner.”

He ran into his garage, right to the Ferrari. He seat belted Danny into the passenger seat. His head lolled against the backrest uncomfortably. 

Vlad hurried into the driver’s seat (custom fit for his height) and fumbled in the sun visor for the keys. The engine roared to life, and Vlad resisted the urge to floor his prized possession out of his garage. He backed up carefully, out of his seemingly endless driveway, resting his right arm behind the unconscious Danny. 

He drove as quickly as a he dared to, not caring about speeding tickets; only caring that Danny would make it alive to a hospital. Maybe this would have been faster as Plasmius, but he didn’t want to draw any attention from the GIW. They were still after Danny; something Vlad was painfully aware of. 

What was he going to do? They were going to realize that he was the missing Daniel Fenton. They’d contract the police, they were obligated too. Then his parents would be notified. Danny couldn’t handle his parents showing up at the hospital. Vlad had visions of him panicking, going ghost to defend himself and revealing his secret to everyone. He could picture the doctors picking up ectoplasmic readings and calling the GIW. They’d recognize the signal, they’d know Danny and Phantom were one in the same. He’d never be safe. 

Well, his safety wouldn’t matter if he was dead. Vlad had no choice in getting him to a hospital. 

He arrived there in just under forty minutes; the drive should have normally taken over an hour. 

He parked as close as he could and retrieved Daniel from the passenger seat. 

How was he going to explain this? To anyone? To Danny, the doctors, the police, Maddie and Jack Fenton? 

He ran through the automatic doors right up to the front desk. 

“Please, my son,” He stuttered. “You have to help him.”

The receptionist’s eyes widened. She hit a button on her desk and yelled for nurses. 

Four nurses with a gurney approached him. They guided Danny onto it and rolled him away, deeper into the hospital. Vlad went to follow but the nurses held him back. 

“Sir, please calm down. We will take care of him.”

Vlad stopped fighting; staring at the now closed door where they had taken him. 

“Sir, what is your name?” The receptionist asked. 

“Vladimir Masters.”

“And your boy?”

“Daniel Fenton.”

“Daniel Fenton? The one who’s been missing for awhile.”

“Yes, the very same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I'd love to hear from y'all. I've written most of this story already, so I'll upload what I have tomorrow, but I'm super tired, so peace out.


	7. chapter 7

There were many things that weren’t right. The bed wasn’t the same; it was still comfortable, but he didn’t sink into the mattress the way he had gotten used to. The room smelt different. There was no Tide; the linens didn’t exude cleanliness. The air wasn’t fresh. His room at Vlad’s always carried the scent of the tree outside his window. There was always a breeze. Here the air was just stale and smelt of sterility and rubbing alcohol. 

He was under a scratchy light blue blanket, elevated by the bed so he was almost sitting upright. He was alone. The room was small and bare, with cold white walls. There was a needle in his left arm. He followed the tubing up to two bags, one of clear liquid, the other dark red. There was a steady beeping and he looked over to a heart monitor. There were little white pads connected to wires stuck all over his chest. There was a heavy gray oxygen monitor clamped tightly on his left index finger. There were little nubs sticking into his nose. 

He looked around the rest of the room, taking note of all the medical equipment. There was the arm band to take your blood pressure, a red box for sharps, he even noticed one of those machines to shock your heart when you died. He swallowed nervously. Why was that there? 

He was still in a lot pain. His back still stung terribly with all the open wounds. His hand throbbed under the new mitten of bandages. His chest still felt like it was filled with fluid and was going to burst, but there was a new pain too. He lifted the blanket with his left hand and saw staples in left side. 

He heard the heart monitor go crazy before he registered that he was the cause. He watched his O2 stats drop drastically. 

_What were they doing to him? Why was he back there? Why did it look like a hospital? What were the staples in his side?_

They were still experimenting on him. He’d suspected that Vlad’s had been some kind of hallucination; why else would his arch enemy be so kind to him? But the realization that he was still a prisoner of the GIW was terrible. He started sobbing. This would never end and he considered getting the box of sharps and ending it all. He’d gotten comfortable at Vlad’s and he missed the older man, and his bed, and the feeling of being safe. 

Of course, it’d been a dream. All wishful thinking that someone could possibly care about him, or would want to. He was so alone because his friends would never find him. And he couldn’t burden them. They were still teenagers, they wouldn’t want to put up with his fear and anxiety if he ever got out. His parents clearly didn’t care. They wanted to hurt him. Losing Vlad had hurt more than he could have imagined. 

Two people ran into the room. A woman in blue scrubs and a man wearing a white coat over darker blue scrubs. He’d never seen either of them before. 

“Daniel?” The man asked. “My name is doctor Anderson. You can call me Jim if you like though."

“I’m Shelly,” the woman said, pressing some buttons on the heart monitor. 

“Daniel, do you know where you are?”

Danny nodded, sullenly. He knew to answer their questions, otherwise they’d be angry. He also knew he shouldn’t speak without permission; they didn’t need to get any ideas about removing anything else from him. 

“Daniel, you are safe here,” The doctor said. Danny had already forgotten his name. “Can you take some deep breaths for me?”

Danny was confused. He’d only been told to stop breathing because ghosts didn’t need to. 

He looked down at his arm again, and realized with horror that he was in human form. The GIW knew about his human side. He’d never be safe anywhere in any form. His mother knew, this was proof and she was going to hate him. There’d never be any hope of going home now. 

The doctor was speaking to him again while shining a light in his eyes. Danny didn’t catch what he said and expected some sort of severe punishment when he didn’t respond. His entire body tensed and he could feel the pain in his in his damaged muscles. He looked up that the doctor expectantly. 

“Can you rate your pain for me? On a scale of one to ten?”

“Why do you care?” Danny asked. He wished his voice was stronger, that his front would be strong and impenetrable. “So that if it’s not bad enough you can make it worse?”

“No, I’m a doctor, I want to help you.”

“You said I can’t feel pain! Is it only because I’m a human now, because now it’s an ethical problem for you? That’s what this all is!” 

Danny tried to get up, maybe he could fight back or try to go ghost. The nurse held him down, and the doctor joined him.

He was going to be punished for speaking to them like that, for trying to escape. 

“NO! NO! PLEASE!” He cried, fighting their strong arms desperately. His fears only deepened when the felt restraints clap around his wrists. He was sobbing and muttering words incoherently. 

“Daniel,” The doctor said, “We just want to help you. Everything is okay. Your parents are here, would you like to see them? Will that make you feel better?”

“NO!” He shouted. “They’ll kill me! They can’t know!” 

The door opened again, and he recognized these people. The huge, stocky man, following a shorter, thinner, red-headed woman into the room. 

Danny was lost now. His father pulled out a gun and aimed it him. His mother reached for one of the instruments on the wall. 

“VLAD!” He shouted. “VLAD, PLEASE!” 

He was going to die; his parents were going to kill him. Maybe that was better. Vlad was nothing but a hallucination that the drugs gave him, he would hold him captive and torture him too, just like everyone else in his life. 

“Danny, honey,” His mother said, and something touched his hair. He shrieked and tried to pull away from her.   
He renewed his fights against his bed, and felt the needle dislodge from his arms. He wasn’t tied down well, maybe he had a chance of escaping. 

The voices were speaking quietly and gently, pretending to be soothing. He knew better, knowing what they really meant. 

More hands held him down. First it was two hands on his shoulders. Then someone holding down his left ankle. It was his dad. And he wasn’t holding down the right foot. Did that mean he just couldn’t move it? Was it not worth the effort? 

That’s when the doctor held his hips down. Danny let out another shriek as fear overwhelmed in. The hands holding his hips to the bed were strong and bruising him. They were going to rape him again! And this time his mother and father were there watching! 

He looked up at his mother, who was leaning over him, her eyebrows scrunched together. 

“Mom, mom, please. I…I’ll cooperate, I’ll lay still just please make them stop! Don’t let them do it again.” 

“Let him up, he says he’ll be still.”

Danny forced his body to be still, and his breath hitched in fear. He couldn’t willingly submit to whatever they were going to do instead, but it had to be better than the hands on his waist. 

Tears welled his eyes in relief as all the hands holding him down released. 

“Danny, honey,” his mom said again. She intertwined her fingers into his left hand. 

Danny gasped and met her eyes. “Please mom, please, you already cut off my right hand, don’t do it again.”

“Of course not.” Danny took one breath in relief before his mother continued. “We need to deal with your wail first.”

“What?” Danny demanded.

“You destroyed the entire facility the last time. We just don’t have the resources to deal with that again.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, my colleagues would like to study your wail further so if a gag won’t work, we’ll have to wait to work on the hand until we can remove your vocal cords.”

“MOM NO! PLEASE YOU CAN’T!” 

He started struggling again, renewing his efforts to escape. All the hands returned to hold him down. He would take whatever punishment he got for struggling; he wasn’t going to lose his voice and his other hand without a fight. 

Something sharp poked his arm and he gasped at the sudden pain. His limbs felt heavy and his felt his head go fuzzy. He struggled against the drug, trying to stay alert. Though it hurt, he wanted to know what they were going to do to him. He wanted to know if his dad really was going to dissect him molecule by molecule.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but wanted to leave a bit of cliff hanger haha!
> 
> Wow, guys thanks so much for reading! My ending is a little less put-together than the rest, but if y'all still want to see it, I'll post ASAP. Let me know! I'm so happy to hear from you!


	8. Chapter 8

“Sir, you can’t go in there!”

Vlad recognized the look in Danny’s eyes. The unseeing, frantic look that signaled he was elsewhere, panicking and reliving whatever those terrible people had done to him. 

The nurse was holding him back, barring the door with her body. 

They let his parents in. 

“YOU IDIOTS!” Vlad screamed at them. 

Danny’s panic went from bad to worse the second he saw them. He started fighting against the doctors.   
Vlad turned intangible, and dashed into the room, reappearing in human form easily. 

Before he got to Danny though, something strange happened. Vlad hesitated; he didn’t want to ruin any bonding he might be having with his parents. 

“Mom, mom, please. I…I’ll cooperate, I’ll lay still, just please make them stop! Don’t let them do it again.” 

“Let him up, he says he’ll be still.” 

Maddie shot Jack a worried look. Vlad looked at the doctor holding him down, and suddenly knew what Danny meant. 

_Butter biscuits_

Danny was still seeing the lab facilities and expecting pain. They couldn’t engage him like this. 

“Maddie,” it came out as a whisper, “you need to stop.”

“Danny, honey.” And she went to hold his left hand. 

“Please mom, please, you already cut off my right hand, don’t do it again.”

“What? Danny of course not, you’re safe here,” Maddie replied.

“What?” Danny cried. There was so much fear and hurt in his voice. He was surprised. Whatever he had heard, it wasn’t what Maddie had said. 

“I said you’re safe here, Danny,” Maddie said slowly and clearly. 

“What are you going to do?” 

“We’re gonna take care of you, and help you through this.”

“MOM, NO!” Danny shrieked, “PLEASE YOU CAN’T!” 

He renewed his efforts to escape the bed. Vlad realized they’d restrained him. He hadn’t been able to see it with all the doctors in the way. 

He ran to Danny’s side, shoving Jack out of the way.

“Daniel?” He asked. “Little badger.”

He was too late though. They’d already sedated him. Danny’s stunningly bright blue eyes rested on him, but Vlad knew he couldn’t see him. His eyes were still abnormally luminescent in his human form. Danny’s eyes slowly closed and Vlad was a little disappointed. 

He could feel himself shaking, as if Danny’s fear, his discomfort was contagious. His rage burned deep within him and he could feel his activated ghost core. His entire body was running feverish and it took all his power to resist Plasmius.

“Are you all mad?” He demanded. 

Jack looked down at Danny, his eyes soft and worried. Maddie leaned into her husband’s shoulder, not looking at Danny. That further infuriated him. 

“Can we all sit and have a discussion?” Doctor Anderson asked. 

“I will consent on one condition. You will discover high levels of ecto-contamination. You are not to inform the GIW.”

“But that is hospital policy.”

“It is not in any lawbooks yet, they are too new of an establishment. My lawyers will assist you if need be. But I will personally take Daniel out of here if you report him.”

“We are trained ecto experts as well,” Jack added. “We can handle any ecto-contamination or threats from the ghost world.”

The doctor clearly had heard of the Fentons; for better or worse though, Vlad couldn’t tell. 

“Aright.”

They went into a conference room. Jack helped Maddie sit and sat down next to her, holding her hands delicately in his larger ones. 

“This is all confidential, for his safety,” Vlad said, sitting across from the Fentons. 

Everyone in the room nodded.

“A week ago today, there was a knock on my door. Phantom was there, I recognized him from Amity Park. But then, this is where it gets strange. He passed out, and white rings formed around his waist. Then Danny was standing in front of me.”

“He was injured, I took him in my car to come here,” Vlad continued, “I was halfway here when he came to. He begged me not to come here. I thought that was absurd of course. Clearly, he needed a doctor. But he panicked. He screamed and tried to jump out of my moving car. I asked him about his parents and he just shut down.”

“I’d never seen Daniel act like that. He kept saying ‘I can’t go back’ and ‘they’ll find me.’ I took him seriously because these people who hurt him were vicious.” he pointed the look at Maddie, hoping she’d read into it. 

“I cared for him as best I could. I cleaned out the wounds and gave him water and soup. I let him rest. It wasn’t until the infection got particularly bad that I brought him here. I’m sorry that I didn’t bring him sooner, that is on me for being irresponsible and I apologize.”

“You were trying to protect him,” Jack said. “Thank you Vladie.”

Vlad cringed at the name. 

“What do you think set him off?” the doctor asked. “What do we need to do differently?”

“Someone needs to be there when he awakes, someone he knows and trusts.”

“You mean you,” Jack said. “Clearly seeing us was a terrible idea.”

“Yes, I do mean me,” he continued. “From what I gather, the people who did this to him had similar machines and this is going to remind of his imprisonment.”

“He said he knew where he was though,” Doctor Anderson continued. 

“Did he verbally say ‘I’m at such and such hospital?’ or did he just nod at you?”

“He nodded.”

“He does that. He hasn’t been awake very often, but when he is, he nods. I think the people who held him conditioned him to acknowledge what other people say. I think they hurt him if he spoke out of turn or didn’t answer they’re questions, so he nods as a safety measure when he doesn’t know what to do.”

Again, he glared daggers at Maddie. 

“He probably thought he was held captive again,” Vlad added. “It happened numerous times when he was with me. He never believes he’s safe. I’m sure it has to do with something his captors did to him.”

“I’d like to order a psych eval,” Dr. Anderson said. “And a tox screen.”

Vlad nodded. He knew what’d they say, severe PTSD, among other things. Regardless, he did want a professional opinion. Danny needed all the help he could get. He was also curious about the results of the tox screen. What drugs did they give him?

“Thank you everyone. Let’s try Mr. Master’s suggestions and work from there.”

The doctors left. Maddie stood up to leave as well. 

“Madeline, hold up a second.”

She tensed all over, then sat back down. Jack looked at him expectantly. 

“Daniel told me some other things as well.”

Maddie looked up at her husband before turning back to Vlad. 

“Yes?”

“He said he couldn’t call you or go home because you hated him. He said you were there, wherever he was held. He said you were the one that hurt him.”

She paled instantly. Jack gasped and looked down to her. Maddie’s eyes grew teary and she looked down at the table. 

“I didn’t say anything in front of the doctor out of respect for Daniel,” Vlad continued. “Should he want to go home, I wanted him to have parents and a home to return to.”

Jack looked at him, then over at his wife again. She had started to cry. 

“How long have you known about his ghost half?” Vlad asked.

“When I got home,” Maddie answered. “I didn’t know Danny had been missing. I…I had my suspicions then. I asked Jazz and Sam and they confirmed.”

“We still don’t understand how it’s possible,” Jack said. There was excitement in his voice behind the sadness. 

“That doesn’t matter now,” Vlad said. “What matters is that you are going to believe him and accept his ghost half. You’re going to have to prove to him that you love him, and he will not be convinced easily.” 

“Of course we love him!” Jack objected. “And Danny knows it too.”

Vlad disregarded the comment. 

“We need to protect him,” Vlad continued, “The GIW cannot learn of his identity, not can anyone else learn about his ghost half. Ghosts from the ghost zone may come to attack while he is vulnerable as well.”

“Of course. The GIW will not be told,” Maddie said. “And, um, we can protect him from the other ghosts.”

“Mads,” Jack said, there was such love and kindness in his voice. How could he still feel that way about her? “Maybe we can find a way to separate his ghost half, when he’s better.”

Vlad stood up, slamming his hands on his table. “This is why he never told you! One of you didn’t believe him and the other just wants to remove his ghost side! Do you know anything about him? It’s his ghost half, you can’t remove half your son because it’s not normal, or not what you wanted! It’s a part of him!”

“How do you know this?” Maddie asked. 

“You studied him! Surely your data should support what I’m telling you? Surely it supports what he tried to tell you!” 

“How do you know it’s not a ghost that killed our boy or overshadowed him?” Maddie was on the defensive now, her tears halting. 

“Because he doesn’t match the profile of any other normal ectoplasmic being!” Vlad shouted at her. He realized he didn’t know how Danny obtained his ghost powers. “Didn’t he ever try to tell you how he half-died?”

Maddie looked down again. Vlad had still proven his point. 

“Danny needs you to support him. All of him.” Vlad continued. “Can you do that for him?”

They both nodded. 

Vlad didn’t believe them; they’d have to earn his trust too. 

He left the conference room, fearing Plasmius would overtake him. He needed to protect his own identity to protect Danny. He ran into Dr. Anderson in the hall. 

“Doctor, can I ask you something else? It’s quite personal.”

“Sure thing,” he placed his clipboard down to prove he was paying close attention. 

“You should run a rape kit.”

Dr. Anderson nodded discreetly. “We thought the same. It’s being processed now.”

“You can have my DNA if you need.”

“Thank you, but that doesn’t seem necessary.”

“What will you do with the DNA? What will the police do?”

“Well, if they get a match, they can arrest them.”

“Will you give me their names as well?”

“I’m not allowed to release that information; I probably won’t get it anyway, it goes right to the police.”

Vlad nodded. It was a good thing he was a very very very wealthy mayor. He would get the names and then The Wisconsin ghost would pay them a visit. 

...

Vlad was sitting in the chair next to Danny’s bed, running his fingers through Danny’s soft hair. This chair was even worse than the one back at the castle, and Vlad could only imagine the back pain to come. He thought about calling his chiropractor in advance. 

Maddie and Jack were just outside, watching the interaction and waiting for Danny to awake again. Vlad was disgusted that they were still they there. Maddie forfeited the right to care for him after what she had done to him. 

Vlad noticed Danny’s heart rate first; it was speeding up. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked. 

There was a soft moan from Danny’s direction. His eyes slowly opened and scanned the room, landing on Vlad. 

“Hey, little badger.” Vlad smiled at him.

“What’s happening, what’s going on?”  
“You’re at the hospital,” Vlad reached for Danny’s hand, but remembered that he always asked for Danny’s permission. Danny reached for Vlad’s hand instead and held it tightly. Vlad was impressed at how strong his grip was even though he was injured and malnourished. “I’m sorry, I know you didn’t want to come. You wouldn’t wake up and I was scared.”

“The last time I was here, there were two scientists, and my parents.”

“Yes.”

“You weren’t.”

“I know. I was outside that door, right there.” He pointed towards the door. “You’re in the ICU and they only let immediate family in. I convinced them to allow an exception after you woke up.”

“So…so my parents are still here?”

“Yes, but they’ve consented to wait to come in until you’re ready to see them.”

Danny looked down, his luminescent blue eyes were staring at something beyond the blanket. 

“What is it, little badger?”

“How do I know?” 

“How do you know what?”

“How do I know this is real?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Vlad…they drugged me. I would wake up at home, or in a hospital, or my dad would come to the facility and get me out…I would hallucinate. And sometimes it would last for days, maybe weeks? It felt like weeks. Enough time for me to start to feel safe, to start to sleep well again. And then it would all be a dream. I can’t handle that again. When I woke up here, I thought it was happening again. I thought being with you was just some dream that they made me have.”

Vlad’s heart dropped, and he felt a deep pain echo in his chest. He also felt his ghost core activate again. He suppressed the feeling and focused on Danny. His eyes were locked on his. 

“I don’t know,” Vlad answered, “I can’t tell you a safe word or anything; if you were dreaming, well, you’d have made up the safe word in the first place. I’d need to tell you something or do something that you couldn’t imagine.”

Vlad stood up, and immediately felt bad that Danny had flinched away from him. He sat down on the bed and pulled Danny close to his chest. 

“This is all I could think of,” Vlad added. “I think you’re subconscious still views me as your arch enemy.”

Vlad felt Danny relax into his chest. 

“Yeah, this does surprise me every time.”

Vlad smiled a little. 

“Is this okay? I didn’t ask you.”

Danny nodded. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Vlad.”

“Because sometimes you just nod, you know. It worries me.”

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it anymore. Or at least, I’ll try.”

“Stop apologizing,” Vlad said sternly. “This isn’t your fault. It’s just you do that when you’re scared. And if you’re scared, I’d rather you tell me why then panic, or hold it all in.”

Danny nodded, and immediately caught himself. “I don’t like being scared all the time, it’s embarrassing. All this is so embarrassing.”

Vlad squeezed his shoulders. “I know. Like I said a while ago, I can’t change how you feel. But I’m proud of you, and everyone here wants to help you through this.”

Danny nodded again, and Vlad chuckled. 

Danny grinned. 

“Will you allow to the doctors to come in?” Vlad asked. 

“Only if you stay.”

“I can do that,” Vlad promised. “They’re going to ask you some questions, I’d like you to do your best.”

Danny nodded. “I mean I’ll try.”

Vlad smiled again. 

“Are they going to strap me down again?” Danny asked. 

“No, little badger,” Vlad assured. “No one will tie you down as I long as live.”

Vlad felt Danny relax again. 

“I’m sorry that happened,” Vlad continued. “Had I been there I would have stopped them.”

Danny nodded. 

“Can I ask you another question?”

“You don’t have to ask for permission, Daniel.”

He nodded. “Noted, or confirmed, I guess.”

Vlad chuckled, and was relieved when Danny did too. 

“What was your question?” Vlad asked, smiling at Danny. 

“What did they do to my side?” 

Vlad’s smile abandoned him. “You had a hole in your stomach. That’s why you didn’t wake up that day. It’s severe, the stomach acid had completely eroded away part of the tissue, so acid was getting into your abdomen and blood into your stomach.”

Danny looked disappointed? Vlad couldn’t read his expression. He was definitely shocked, but seemed to accept the terrible news. 

“What caused it?”

“They think it started as an ulcer, which formed from infection, stress, and malnourishment. It went untreated for a while which caused this.”

“How long did it take to get this bad?”

“Probably a while, it’s hard to tell.”

Danny nodded, but this time didn’t make a comment in addition. 

“Was it a close call?” Danny asked. 

Vlad pursed his lips. It had been very close. It had been a long and grueling surgery, and given all his other injuries, it had been very touch and go for a while. Vlad hadn’t slept for the entire night, pacing, crying, praying, trying to figure what he believed so he could pray for Danny. 

“Very,” Vlad said. “I’m sorry it got so bad.”

Danny nodded again. 

“I suppose it’s a long recovery from here?”

“Yes, little badger,” Vlad ran his fingers through Danny’s hair. “But I’ll be here for you the whole time. And your parents are still here as well…if you want them.”

Danny was silent, his glowing eyes focused on the foot of his bed. Perhaps it’d been a mistake to mention them.   
“Daniel? What’s wrong?”

“I just…I want to be in control of my body. It’s frustrating. The entire time I was a prisoner, I was held down or…or something. And that’s scary. Having other people do things and you can’t control it… And I can’t feel safe until I can move on my own and defend myself. And like I know I’m not there anymore, but I can’t move my leg, and I can’t even sit up without being in pain, and now the doctors are doing things to me, and… I’m sorry, that was a lot.”

Vlad smiled at him. Danny looked up to meet his eyes. “I know. This can’t be easy, and I can’t imagine how you must be feeling. I also want you to stop apologizing.”

“Sorry,” he said, looking back down at the foot of the bed. 

“I can give you a bit of good news though,” Vlad continued. “When the doctors get here, they’ll show you how to work the morphine pump.”

“What?”

“Yeah, they have you hooked up to a line. You get to control how much you need for a little while.”

Danny looked up at him. 

“It’ll take away your pain, little badger, and you get to be in control of that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Now I feel bad that I didn’t bring you here sooner,” Vlad said, running his fingers through his hair. 

The doctors came in and re-introduced themselves to Danny. They were gentle and straight forward as they asked how he was feeling and examined him. They let Vlad stay the whole time and hold his hand. Danny cooperated and let them poke and prod at him. They wanted to look at the wound on his side and make sure it was healing. They wanted him to try drinking clear fluids. 

They showed him the pump and helped him set up the first dose. Vlad felt relief, as if the drug had been injected into him too, as he watched Daniel’s pain dissipate. They also gave him an anti-anxiety medicine to help him relax and eventually fall back asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Vlad had returned with another blanket for Danny. Jack Fenton was waiting outside Danny’s door, and leapt up when he saw Vlad.

“Vladdie!” He said. His face fell quickly though, and he looked sad. 

“Jack,” He replied, a little curtly. 

“Can you…can you ask Danny if I can see him?” 

Vlad was stunned for a second. “It’s just me, Maddie went for a really long walk so it’s fine. I won’t stay long, and if I scare him or freak him out I will leave, I promise. I’ll be good, I won’t bring any ghost weapons, and I’m not even wearing my hazmat suit,” The man blabbered on. 

“What do you want?”

Jack was holding a pillow in his hands. “I made something for him.”

“I’ll ask him, it should be his decision,” Vlad said.

“Of, course,” Jack continued. “And tell me how to interact with him, if there’s any words or phrases I should avoid, or anything, I’ll do exactly what you tell me, I just want to see him.”

Vlad nodded and went into the hospital room. Danny was watching tennis on the television, absorbed in the match. It was a repeat of Wimbledon, which had happened about two weeks before Danny had escaped. 

“Hey, little badger.”

“Hey, did you know Federer gets upset?” 

“Yes, in the quarterfinals,” Vlad said. “I watched it live.”

“Oh.”

"I would still love to watch the rest of the tournament with you though. I want to learn from the best, if I'm to win at the country club this summer."

Danny smiled.

“Daniel, would it be alright with you if your father came in to see you?” Vlad asked.

“What…what does he want?” He looked away from the television and at Vlad. He paused the match. 

“It’s a surprise. I promise it’s nothing bad. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t approve.” 

“Is mom with him?”

“No, it’s just him.”

He looked down, thinking intensely. 

“I’ll stay and supervise the whole time,” Vlad added. “And you don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

He was silent for a little longer, glancing up at the score and then at the heart monitor. 

“Yeah, he can come in…” Danny said. 

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

Vlad gently squeezed his shoulder. 

“Should I go get him now?”

Danny nodded. “I mean yes.”

Vlad smiled at him. 

He stepped outside Danny’s room. Jack was waiting anxiously, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet and back. 

“He said you can come in,” Vlad said. 

“Really?” Jack blurted. His eyes lit up and he ran to the door. He hesitated before barging in. “Is there anything I should know before going in there?”

“Keep your voice down. Move slowly and obviously. He’ll watch and analyze your movements like a hawk. I would keep your distance, he isn’t great with physical contact. And If you do want to touch him, ask his permission, that’s super important.”

Jack nodded. 

...

Danny watched the door open. Vlad came in first, holding the door for his dad. He had come without mom, like he had promised. He glanced around the room and up at the tennis match on the television. He looked over at Danny and smiled. 

Danny smiled back, but it felt forced. He was nervous, watching his dad slowly come towards him. His dad was walking slowly. Was he scared of Danny? Had Vlad threatened him? Was he scared of hurting Danny or scaring him? Had Vlad told him to walk slowly? He half expected his dad to barge in, running and shouting with his normal energy, and didn’t know to feel about the change of pace. 

“Hey, Danny,” He said.

Vlad lingered by the door, watching them. 

Danny realized he had forgotten to answer him. It was too late to say something now.

His dad was wearing jeans and a packer’s t-shirt. It was a nice change from the bright orange jumpsuit. Danny searched his form trying to see if he was carrying ghost weapons. Surely, Vlad wouldn’t let him in if he was dangerous. He was carrying something shapeless under his arm. 

“How you doin?” his dad asked. 

“Okay,” Danny answered, neutrally. He hated that question. He felt like he was doing terrible but he couldn’t say that as an answer every time. 

His dad smiled again. He stood by his bed, a few feet away. He was clearly keeping his distance. Danny didn’t know how to feel about that. Was he that broken? Was he like broken glass and he needed to be delicately stepped around? But he was very grateful that his dad didn’t overwhelmed him with hugs and shouting. Part of him knew his dad wasn’t going to hurt him, he was keeping his distance out of respect for Danny. But what if he feared Danny’s ghost half? What if he was playing it safe because he didn’t believe Danny was his son? What if he was planning an attack and wanted to stay far away?

“I um, I made you something.” He held out the object from under his arm. It was a small, white pillow. He recognized the art on the pillow as his dad’s cross stitching. 

Danny smiled. He’d forgotten that his dad sewed as a pastime. 

His dad approached him and tentatively held out the pillow. Danny reached for it, but couldn’t lift his arm that high with the staples in his side. He winced. He noticed Vlad make a slight move in the corner. 

“You can come closer, dad,” Danny said, “I can’t reach that far.”

His dad had seen the wince, and Danny noticed his eyebrows were scrunched together and lines and appeared across his forehead. He stood by his side and placed the pillow in his lap. He immediately took a few steps back, as though he had gotten too close and broken some kind of rule. 

Danny ran his left hand over the stitching. The picture was vibrant, made with neon yarn and threads. It was a family portrait, made in cartoon style. Phantom was in the middle, with his sister on his right. His mom and dad had their arms around each of the kids. They were all smiling. 

His dad had also sewed what looked like a frame around the family picture, making it corny and adorable. There were other little scenes around the outside, Danny and Jack fighting a ghost together. Danny looked closer and recognized his dad’s depiction of Skulker. There was another one of a boy with black and hair and blue eyes building some sort of green and silver equipment in the ghost lab with his parents. It took Danny a moment to recognize himself. The third image was of him and Jazz pouring over a glowing book together on a purple floor. The last small picture was of Phantom and Maddie working together to trap Plasmius in a thermos. 

Danny was smiling, and he realized he was crying as the images suddenly became blurry.

“I um…” His dad started. “I’m sure Vladdie has very nice pillows and things, but I um…I thought it might help you heal better if you elevated your leg or your hand on something with love in the stitches.”

“Wow, dad,” he said, continuing to stare at the pillow. “How long did this take you?”

“A few days…I haven’t really been sleeping and I wanted to make something to show you I care and um, so yeah, um, a few days of non-stop sewing.”

Danny couldn’t look away from the pictures. It looked like it had taken his dad months to make it. 

“D-do you like it?” His dad asked.

“Yeah I do. Thank you, dad.” Danny looked up him. His dad was so tall; Danny had to look up a lot to look at him.   
His dad smiled at him. Danny could tell he was nervous, but the smile seemed genuine. 

“Well,” his dad said. “That’s um, what I wanted…I can leave if you want. I um…I know this must have been hard, so thanks for letting me in.”

Danny didn’t know what he wanted. There was still a paranoid part of him that associated his parents with hatred and pain, but the pillow in his lap contradicted all those feelings. His dad went to leave, and Danny was afraid of him leaving more. 

“You can stay, if you want,” Danny said after him. His dad turned, eyes lighting up. He looked like he was crying. 

“Thank you, Danny,” He said. “Do you want me to put the pillow under your leg? I put extra stuffing in it so that you’d have support and it wouldn’t lose its shape.”

Danny nodded. “I mean, that’d be great.”

He looked over at Vlad, who grinned at the correction. It’d become a bit of joke of theirs. 

His dad approached him and took the pillow from him. He went to the other side of the bed, and gently switched out the pillows under his right leg. It was encased in a cast from toes to knee, and Danny still couldn’t feel it. 

“Let the Fenton super-healing begin!” His dad exclaimed. 

Danny grinned at how corny his dad was. He could feel the fear of his dad dissipating at a rate he never thought possible. He clearly knew about his ghost half; but also didn’t seem to hate him for it the way his mother did. 

“Danny?” his dad asked, pulling Danny out of his thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Can I hold your hand? Or something, whatever is most comfortable for you.”

“Um, sure,” His dad reached for his right hand, and then pulled back as he noticed the cast. He made an ‘of course,’ gesture, walked around the bed in his more normal, goofy walk, and came to his left side. He kneeled beside him and took Danny’s hand in his. Danny felt dwarfed in comparison. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” His dad asked. The two were eye level, and Danny looked at him closely. “I just want whatever is best for you. I don’t want to push too hard or scare you or move to fast or anything.” 

“You’re okay,” Danny said honestly. He was taking comfort in his dad’s blabbering. Somethings never changed, and it was nice that there was no pressure on Danny to fill the silence. 

“Listen, Danny…” his dad said. “I love you. You don’t understand how much I love you, or how it drove me insane when you were gone.” 

Danny looked away. He needed to hear this; for a long time, he figured he’d never hear this from his parents. The words made him cry. How could he have thought his dad hated him? But how could his parents still love him after the accident? After what happened?

“And I love that you’re a ghost and you’ve been carrying on the Fenton tradition of fighting ghosts, and when your human half is better, we’ll make sure your ghost half is equally as healthy. Can ghosts be healthy? Is that appropriate terminology? What do you want us to call your ghost half? Is there special pronouns or anything that you prefer?” 

Danny chuckled at the question. It sounded ridiculous to him, but he knew his dad was just trying to be understanding and supportive. 

“I’ve never thought about ghost pronouns. I just say ghost half or Phantom.”

“May I ask how this happened? I don’t want to reverse it or anything, I just want to understand, and know you better.”

“It was the ghost portal. I was fourteen and I wanted to show Sam and Tucker that my parents had a portal to another dimension. I put on one of the jumpsuits and went in. There was an on-off switch inside. So I flipped it on…I…um…I don’t really know what happened after that, but I woke up and I was Phantom. I passed out again and the next time I woke up, I thought I had dreamed the whole thing because I was human again. But then I started falling into floors and going intangible so I had to work to control my powers.”

“Did it hurt?”

“Yeah,” Danny said. “It hurt a lot…”

His dad squeezed his hand. 

“How could your mother and I be such irresponsible parents!” His dad exclaimed. “You could have been killed!”

“Whose to say I wasn’t?” Danny asked. 

His dad laughed at the joke but then looked at him seriously. “What do you think? Do you think you died in there?”

“I’m not sure. I have a heart beat and emotions and my human half is very real, but my ghost half is equally as real, and ghosts are dead…”

“Have you been thinking about a lot this since it happened?”

Danny nodded. “I…I’m not sure what I am. Am I dead or alive? Or halfway in between? But how can that exist?”

“I don’t think it matters,” His dad said. “What matters is that you’re here, and you’re sentient, and you’re you. Dead and alive are labels anyway, you know? Like you give to plants, or things in the store. Alive lobsters, dead lobsters."

Danny laughed. 

“Besides,” His dad added. “If you were technically dead, that wouldn’t change anything. You’re still here, and I still love you.”

Danny smiled. “So, you’re okay with my ghost half?”

“Of course!” his dad boomed. “I just wish you would have told me, because then I wouldn’t have ever shot at you.”

Danny nodded. He had been afraid they wouldn’t believe him. That they wouldn’t love him or want him anymore. He’d feared they would tear out his ghost half and dissect him; that they’d think he’d killed or overshadowed their son and would capture him. At least his concerns had been valid for only one of his parents. 

...

Danny listened to the dial tone with growing dread and excitement. Vlad was sitting next to him, smiling encouragingly. 

“Hello?” 

Danny recognized the familiar voice. Low and neutral. He gasped at hearing her voice. He felt so much lighter already. She was safe and still around. He was tempted to hang up right then and there. 

“Hi…um…Sam?”

“DANNY?” She shrieked into the line. Danny flinched at the sudden pitch.

“Yeah….hi, it’s me,” He said. He’d planned this far. He was prepared for this. Except he wasn’t prepared at all. He was suddenly terrified. She’d hate him. Why had he waited this long to call? It’d been months…surly she’d forget about him. 

“Danny, are you okay? Are you safe? Tell me where you are I can be there.”

“I’m…I’m fine.”

“Danny, what happened? Are you sure you’re okay? God, it’s so good to hear from you.”

“I’m okay…” he whispered. He suddenly found he was sobbing. Sam, the love of his life, girl of his dreams, best friend in the whole world was still there for him. “I’m sorry,” he choked out. 

“Don’t be sorry.” Danny realized she was also sobbing. “Where are you?”

“I’m at Mercy Hospital, in Wisconsin.”

“Do the police know? Your parents?”

“Yeah,” He said, tears making his voice crack. “My parents are here, but…”

“Good. Are friends allowed? I can leave this afternoon! Be there by morning!”

“Sam,” He said, letting all his desperation and fear and relief flow into the simple name. 

“Danny, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, I…You…I really needed to talk to you.”

“I’m here for you. I know it’s been awhile, but I’ve been looking for you.”

“I’m sorry,” Danny said again. 

“Danny, it’s okay. It’s okay now. You’re safe right?”

He knew she was fishing for a code. They had developed a secret code a long time ago incase, for some reason, they couldn’t say what was really happening on the phone. 

“I am now…I swear.”

“Good. How are you?” She asked.

Danny broke down completely. “I don’t know. Better now that I’m talking to you.”

“I’ve been so worried.”

“I’m sorry, I…I don’t want to…to burden or…I’m a mess, I’m sorry.”

“Danny, stop,” Sam commanded, and Danny drew strength from her normal stubbornness and attitude. “We are more than friends. We’ve been through terrible things and we’ll get through this too. You are never a burden and I want to help you in anyway I can. Understood?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah.”

“Have you been attacked by any ghosts?”

“Not yet.”

“Are you or your parents able to protect you?”

“Um…no…but Vlad is here, and...”

“VLAD?” She demanded. “Is he the one who captured you? Because I have just as much money and power as him, I’ll sue his ass all the way back to the stone ages, and so help me I’ll…”

“He wasn’t the one who captured me,” Danny but in. 

“So…so you were captured, then?” Sam asked. 

Danny cringed. He’d just admitted it to himself. He couldn’t deny that was real now. 

“Yeah,” he answered simply.

Sam didn’t press him. “Are you safe with Vlad?” she asked instead. 

“Yeah. I know you don’t believe that. But he saved my life. He’s been so great, and he’s helping me…and…he’s a good guy.”

Danny smiled at him. Vlad nodded at him and smiled back. 

Dr. Jim knocked on the door and came in. 

“Sam, doctor’s here, I uh…I gotta go, But I’ll see you soon right?”

“You know it! I’d rather catch up in person anyway!”

“Sam?” he asked. 

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awe, some good fluff. But of course this is a roller coaster, so the hospital can't be safe forever, now can it? 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you!


	10. Chapter 10

Danny was playing pokemon on his computer. It was an older game; emerald, but it was on an emulator on his computer. Vlad had helped him configure the laptop so that the game was also playing on his television, and everyone could watch. His dad would cheer and make suggestions, and Vlad would do the same, except sounding more like an expert in the matter. He’d also configured the keys so that he could play with only his left hand. 

The doctor came with a worn-out looking man in a cheap suit. Had he spent that much time with Vlad that he now knew the difference?

“Hi Danny,” the doctor said kindly. 

Danny paused the game, expecting them to need to prod at him and ask him questions. 

“Can we ask you some questions?” The doctor asked. 

Danny nodded. They were constantly asking him how he was doing and he finally trusted that they were trying to help. It still made him uncomfortable though. 

“This is Detective Sholtz with the police department. Don’t worry, you’re not in any trouble or anything. We wanted to ask you about what happened.”

Danny gulped. He folded his laptop and put it down, knowing this was going to take a while. His heart was pounding and he wondered if he was strong enough to go ghost and run away. 

Vlad offered his chair to the detective and sat on the bed next to Danny. 

“Hey,” Vlad offered. “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you. You can say or do as much as you want, okay? We all understand how hard this is.”

Danny shook his head. How could they? He was weak, he hadn’t been able to fight back or do anything to help himself. He’d cried and begged for them to stop. He’d prayed to every higher power he knew of, hoping one of them would listen to him, or care. He was so worthless that no one cared if he rotted in some dungeon for months on end, why were they pretending to care now? He was ashamed of his own weakness and that he was being a   
bother to everyone around him. That they could all see the physical remainders. 

But he was the most embarrassed about what he had prayed for. He’d wanted to die; anything to end the pain. If he died, his mom wouldn’t find out his identity. He could “live” (for lack of a better word, he thought bitterly) with her still loving the human boy and mourning his death. But he couldn’t live with her hatred, or her guilt for hurting her son. He couldn’t handle that she didn’t believe him. He wanted to protect her from the complex feelings he was still struggling to sort out for himself. 

He’d never got the chance to try anything. Given the chance, he honestly wasn’t sure if he would have attempted anything. But when his hand had been cut off, and he felt himself dying, he felt that will to live again and that was what got him to Vlad’s. But then he’d fallen back into that mindset, maybe he would be better off dead, or at least fully dead. 

He really didn’t want to share all this. He didn’t understand his feelings, how could anyone else? They’d hate him, they think he was weak and pathetic. Danny agreed with them. 

But no matter how he was feeling, or how embarrassing this was, he couldn’t incriminate his mother. He owed her that much. 

He must have gotten lost in his thoughts because Vlad was gently shaking him. 

“Hey, Daniel, are you with us?” He asked gently. 

Danny nodded, though he wasn’t sure if he was or not. 

The detective leaned forward, folding his hands. He was an unimpressive guy, an average height white guy with a dad belly and graying black hair. He had small brown eyes. 

“Danny,” he said. His voice was kind though. “You can call me Michael if you want. Or Mike. My friends call me Mike.”

Danny nodded again, looking at his knees.

“Can you tell us anything about what happened to you?” 

Danny shook his head. 

“Danny, can you look at me, please?” Mike asked. 

Danny forced himself to look up. 

“Did the people who did this threaten you? Did the say you couldn’t go the police or they’d hurt you and your family?” 

No. They’d said the police wouldn’t investigate and his family didn’t care. They never even thought he would escape. Neither did he. But he couldn’t go to the police; they would alert the GIW. And even if they vowed to protect him, they couldn’t stop the GIW. 

“Because if they did threaten you, we can protect you,” Mike continued. “We can move you to a different hospital or setup an officer outside your door.”

Danny didn’t say anything. What could one officer do against the entire GIW or a ghost?

“Do you think we won’t be able to protect you?” Mike asked. 

Danny nodded. “You can’t.”

“Why not?” 

Danny was silent again. 

“This isn’t some pyramid scheme, or mafia doing? Terrorism?” Mike asked.

Danny chuckled. That sounded so ridiculous to him that he couldn’t help it. 

He shook his head. 

“We didn’t think so.” Mike smiled at him.

“Danny, honey,” his father said, making Danny look up suddenly. “We just want to help. We know this is uncomfortable and scary for you. But really, we just want to help. We’ll make sure they never hurt you again.”

“I know…I just can’t tell you.”

“Why not?” Mike asked. 

“You won’t believe me. The doctors will deem me crazy and lock me up again. And even if you did believe me, there’s nothing you can do.”

“First, we won’t lock you away.” Mike said. He noticed that Vlad and his dad went to protest as well. “But secondly, we will believe you.”

Danny shook his head. 

“The doctors already know about the ecto-contamination, but they are not allowed to contact the GIW.”

Those three letters made Danny wince. He had been trying so hard to suppress all the memories overwhelming him, but he felt his mental wall fail. Suddenly he was back in their lab and they were going to torture him, as if experimenting on him wasn’t enough. 

“Hey, Daniel,” Vlad was gently rubbing his shoulder. “Little badger, you’re safe. You’re at the hospital, remember? It’s just me, Vlad.”

Danny leaned into Vlad’s chest. 

“It’s okay,” Vlad continued. “You’re safe now. It’s okay.”

“W-why?” Danny choked on his own words. “Why aren’t you going to contact the…” he couldn’t say the letters. “them?”

The doctor spoke this time: “Mr. Masters forbade it. He said it would be unsafe to call them. Your parents are also experts in ecto-contamination, so we’ve been taking their advice and following our normal protocol.”

Danny looked up at Vlad, trying to convey all his thanks that the GIW wouldn’t be coming to the hospital to investigate. Vlad smiled at him and Danny wondered if Vlad knew what he was thinking. 

“Danny,” Mike said. “Was it the GIW that did all this to you?” 

Danny gulped. He looked up at Vlad, looking for advice, answers, anything. He supposed they knew, if his panic attack had been any indication. He nodded slightly. He couldn’t voice it aloud, that would only confirm everything that they had done to him. He would be admitting defeat. 

He nodded slowly, then hung his head. He fought back a sob and bit his tongue. So much for being resolute and not telling them anything. 

“And the GI…” Mike corrected himself. “them, the guys in white. They wanted you because of your ecto-contamination?”

“I’m half ghost,” He whispered. “It’s complicated, and I don’t feel like explaining.”

“Okay,” Mike said kindly. “Can I ask you some questions about what happened? I know this is hard, but you’ve been doing so well.”

Danny nodded slowly. 

“Do you know any names of the people who worked there? Can you describe them?”

“No,” Danny answered. “They never told me their names, and I was…I was blindfolded a lot,” It wasn’t technically a lie. He knew his mom yes, but he didn’t know anyone else there. And had been blindfolded frequently. He still didn’t know how many guards there were or which guards had raped him. 

“Daniel, it’s okay,” Vlad was speaking gently. It took Danny a long time to realize he’d been panicking again, and he latched on to Vlad’s voice to pull him back to reality. “You’re safe. It’s Vlad, and you’re dad, and the doctor, and Mike. It’s just us. You’re safe. It’s okay.”

Danny hiccuped and nodded. 

“Do you know where the facility is?” Mike asked. 

Danny shook his head, which only made the nausea and lightheaded feeling from crying worse. “It can’t be far from Lambeau field though. I couldn’t have made it far when I escaped.”

“Do you know how they abducted you?” 

“Set a trap,” he whispered. He didn’t want to explain; only he was dumb enough to fall for a trap. 

Mike nodded again. 

“Is there anything else you want to tell us?” Mike asked. “Any information at all that could help us catch these guys?”

“You’re going to arrest them?” Danny asked. 

“Of course,” Mike answered. “They broke the law. They abducted and imprisoned a human child. Among other things.”

“You can’t arrest them!”

“Why not?”

Danny swallowed hard. Because he didn’t want his mom to go to jail. Because then the GIW could connect Danny Fenton with Danny Phantom. Because what if he had to testify and face them?

“It isn’t safe…” Danny settled for the only answer he could give. “They don’t know my human identity. If they do, they can find me and…and...”

“Daniel,” Vlad said, stealing Danny’s focus before it could wander back to his memories. “They can’t hurt you in any form. You are under my protection and the best defenses money can buy. You are a living human and they cannot legally do anything to you.”

“I’ve also arranged for some police protection,” Mike said. “These people are dangerous, and I thought it might make you more comfortable here.”

Danny nodded. He couldn’t argue with them though he desperately wanted to. He just wanted to move to some other country, change his name and try to move on. Would this ever end? 

_Probably not._

He once again thought about getting the box of sharps. But what would Vlad say? Or his dad? Besides, he couldn’t get there anyway. He still could hardly move. How ironic, he would need to wait until he was healthier to kill himself. 

Danny forced away the negative thoughts. He still felt cold, and afraid though. Nothing could really change that. Vlad was being nice and his dad loved him. Sam and Tucker were coming soon. Maybe they could keep their promise. And if they could, wouldn’t life be worth trying?

He wrestled with that thought for awhile until he realized they were trying to get his attention again. 

“Thank you, Danny. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns, or if you want to share anything else about what happened,” Mike said. He held out his hand to shake Danny’s. Danny met his grip, which was awkward in his left hand. 

“And little badger,” Vlad said kindly. “That was very brave of you, thank you. You were amazing. It’s all okay now and we support you.”

Danny nodded and yawned. He hadn’t realized he was exhausted until he watched the doctor and detective leave. His dad turned down the lights. 

Danny tried to settle in a little more comfortably but that was impossible. Vlad made no effort to move away, and kept a supportive arm around his shoulders. 

“Get some rest now, your dad and I are right here. We’ll protect you and everything will be fine.”

Danny forced his body to relax and closed his eyes. It took awhile to drift off and he sensed that an added sedative might have been to blame for the sleep he thought would never come. 

...

Danny was sitting on the table, staring at his bare feet. They were pale and trembling. His whole body was trembling. Vlad stood over him. 

He’d should’ve known. He shouldn’t have said anything about the GIW. It was Vlad’s plan after all. How could he possibly be that stupid?

“Hands, Daniel,” Vlad ordered. 

Danny suppressed a sob and obediently held out his hands. Cold metal clasped around his wrists and he looked up to confirm the sight of manacles. 

Vlad crouched down by Danny’s feet. Danny knew better than to kick out or resist. He’d tried that already, for all the good it had gotten him. His ankles were locked together with another set of manacles. He shivered. 

“The GIW will be here shortly.” Vlad stood back up to his full height. “You will not be escaping again, little badger.”

“Vlad, please.”

“There’s nothing for me to gain. They’ve already broken you; My only regret is that I couldn’t do it myself. There’s no fun playing with a broken toy.”

“I’ll be your son! Anything!” Danny pleaded, “just, please don’t send me back there.”

“Anything?”

“Anything! They’ll torture me.”

“And what if I wanted to torture you?”

Danny cowered away in fear. He didn’t have any other options. His parents hated him. His friends thought he was pathetic. Vlad thought he was worthless. If that was the only way to be a part of his life, then he would take it. It had to be better than being experimented on.

Danny nodded, suppressing more tears. 

Vlad’s eyes narrowed with something Danny couldn’t place. Annoyance? Hatred? Pity? Lust? Anger? 

“Prove to me that you’re worth keeping,” Vlad said. 

Danny shivered. He knew what he had to do. It seemed to be the only thing he was good for. He’d had to do it when he needed water at the GIW. 

He gingerly lowered himself to the ground, so he was kneeling at Vlad’s feet. He was shaking so bad that he fumbled with Vlad’s belt. Vlad ran his fingers through Danny’s hair. 

“You’ve surprised me, little badger,” Vlad said, grinning down at him. “And to think you’re coming to me!” 

Vlad picked Danny up and slammed him into the table. Danny recoiled arching his back at the impact. Vlad climbed on top of him, and smoothly chained his hands above his head. 

“No,” his whispered. 

“I thought you wanted this?” Vlad asked, biting his neck. 

“I…I,” he whimpered.

“Daniel, please I need you to listen to me.”

“What?” he asked aloud. It was Vlad’s voice, but it wasn’t Vlad who had said it. Vlad was turning into Plasmius, removing Danny’s hospital gown with his sharp claws. 

“Danny, honey,” there was a different voice. “You’re safe. You’re safe here. You’re at the hospital.”

Danny looked over Vlad’s shoulder and saw the guys in white. If he didn’t please Vlad, they were going to take him!

He didn’t hear the voices again. Danny tried to hear them but they were gone again. Not even the voices in his head wanted him. Only Vlad. 

Vlad was removing his pristine suit, dropping is carelessly on the floor beside the table. He was pale and muscular. He was caressing Danny’s chest, drawing blood with his sharp claws. 

He removed the last of his clothing and angled his hips above Danny’s. 

“No,” Danny pleaded again, knowing it was hopeless. 

Vlad smelt of laundry detergent. Wait that wasn’t right, he’d just taken off all his clothes. The smell strengthened, overwhelming him. He inhaled the scent; original Tide detergent. 

He was looking up at the hospital room that had become too familiar. His father was on his right side, with tears in his eyes. Vlad was on his left, holding his blazer under Danny’s nose. Danny looked up and he put the jacket aside.

“You with us, little badger?” 

Danny flinched at the words. He was trembling uncontrollably, almost vibrating off the bed. His breathing was coming in short gasps. 

The doctor was standing behind his father, jotting down something from the monitor. 

Vlad put his hand on Danny’s shoulder. Danny shrieked and lurched away from him, landing in the pillows behind him. 

Danny pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his knees. He had panicked, he knew it. He was in the hospital. Shame made his cheeks flush bright red. He was embarrassed and scared. He wasn’t sure if it was a dream, a cross between some kind of memory and reality, a fear, or something else, but every feeling of the vision was still there and he had to fight to stay grounded in the hospital. 

“Daniel, what happened? Are you okay?” Vlad asked. 

Danny shook his head. Why did he keep having these nightmares? Why couldn’t he just trust that he was safe? That Vlad didn’t want to hurt him? Danny indeed felt like he owed Vlad, but not something like that. Vlad had never asked him for anything, he’d been nothing but supportive and protective. So why did his mind keep feeding him horrors of Vlad raping him? 

He was so ashamed. How was he supposed to get over this? He couldn’t tell anyone, the doctors would also view Vlad as a threat. Vlad would feel terrible that Danny still didn’t trust him. That Danny had those terrible thoughts about him. 

And what about his parents? Neither of them knew about that aspect of his imprisonment. They’d hate him. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said. His voice was from a few feet away. “We’re not going to hurt you. You’re safe here. Do you understand?”

Danny nodded. He understood that fine, but it didn’t seem to mean anything. 

“Can you take some deep breaths for us?” His dad asked. 

Danny tried. He tried so hard, but his breath kept catching in his throat and he couldn’t. 

“Easy, easy,” His dad intoned. “In and out. Just breathe, in and out.” 

He let his dad guide him until his breathing had calmed. He was nauseous, and his head was swimming from lack of oxygen. 

“That’s great, Danny, you’re doing great. Just keep breathing.”

How sad that his greatest accomplishment was breathing. 

He looked around the room with newfound clarity. Vlad was standing back, a look of guilt and fear on his narrow face. His dad’s eyebrows were scrunched together in worry. Danny looked down again, tears swimming in his eyes.   
Who was he to upset them so much? This was how he repaid the only people who had been kind to him? 

“Are you okay now?” His dad asked. 

Danny shook his head. He was already so ashamed that he supposed it didn’t matter that he was admitting his own weakness. He was so worthless, it didn’t even matter. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked. Danny flinched and looked up at him. “Would you like me to go?” 

“NO!” Danny shrieked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…please don’t go.”

Vlad sat down in the chair beside him, and crossed one of his legs over the other. 

“Would you like to talk about it?” his dad asked. “All we want is to help you.”

Danny shook his head. How could he tell his parents? Or Vlad? He was mortified. But he desperately wanted the nightmares to stop. 

“Would it be better to talk to me alone? Or Vlad? Or the doctor?” His dad asked. 

“Vlad,” he choked. He couldn’t let his dad find out. And the doctor was a stranger, he couldn’t. He’d also ban Vlad from ever seeing him. He needed Vlad. 

“Okay, honey. We’re right out side if you need anything.”

It was just him and Vlad. He smiled at Danny, though his eyes were sad and worried. 

Danny hiccuped. 

“Am I scaring you, Daniel?” Vlad asked. 

“No.” 

“Are you sure about that? You seem pretty scared of me.”

Danny looked away. “it’s stupid.”

“Daniel, none of your emotions or triggers are stupid.”

“I’m embarrassed and you’ll feel bad.”

“All the more reason to talk about it.”

Danny shook his head. Tears dipped onto the blanket.

“Do you want me to come closer?” Vlad asked. 

Danny shook his head.

Vlad was patient and quiet. Danny could feel him staring. 

“You…you know what happened to…what they…when I was there.” He still couldn’t say it. 

“I know they tortured you.” 

“No, no, the other thing…the…” Danny sobbed.

“Oh,” Vlad sighed. “Is something here reminding you of that?” 

“No, it’s…it’s nightmares…”

“Are you reliving what happened?”

Danny shook his head. 

“Do you want me to keep asking questions.”

Danny nodded. His throat was so tight and his head was aching with the pressure of tears. He didn’t even think he could talk.

“Are you…are you having these nightmares about me?” Vlad asked. 

Danny nodded. He went to pull the blanket over his face. This was it. Vlad would be so offended that he wouldn’t want to help anymore. He’d realize he was too broken and wasn’t worth putting back together. Or worse, Vlad would admit that’s what he’s been wanting all along. 

“I’m sorry you fear that,” Vlad said. His voice was low and heavy. “I would never dream of hurting you. Not in that way, or in any other way either.”

Danny nodded. He knew that. 

“Thank you for telling me. Now I can reassure you that I don’t want that at all. And that you don’t have to worry about that happening ever again.”

Danny nodded again. 

“I’m sorry…I know you wouldn’t…I..”

“Daniel stop apologizing,” Vlad chided gently. “Your fears are valid. You should never apologize for your feelings or anything you experienced. You underwent some really terrible traumas, and it’s understandable that they left their mark. It’ll take time to really get better and sort through them.”

“I know that!” Danny cried. “It’s frustrating and exhausting and so scary and embarrassing!”

“I know, little badger.”

“Are you mad at me? I am really sorry that my subconscious had these thoughts and that I’m afraid of that…”

“I could never be mad at you,” Vlad said. “I am sad, and ashamed that I have ever given you that impression and of course I don’t want you to fear that. Or anything for that matter. But,”

 _Here it comes_ Danny thought. 

“But I’m happy that you told me. It makes me feel honored that you trust me enough to share these fears with me. Especially since they’re about me. It also makes me feel hopeful that we can work through this, and that you won’t be living in this fear and distrust for the rest of your life.”

“I know it’s irrational. Like I don’t think you’ll actually…”

“You don’t have to explain. I swear I won’t hurt you. Nothing will as long as I’m here. I just don’t want you to be scared like this. I’ll do whatever I can to help, and so will everyone here.”

Danny nodded. 

“Thanks, Vlad.”

“Are you feeling any better?”

“I don’t know.”

“And Daniel, Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! please leave me a comment, a question, some inspiration, I'm happy to hear what you think!  
> Get ready for my personal favorite chapter, coming next


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some language in this chapter. Nothing too extreme, but I think Danny having some agency and a ghost attack calls for it.  
> And thanks for reading everyone!

Danny was startled awake by the sound of something clicking near his face. His breath was cold; there was a ghost. 

Skulker was staring down at him, blue skin glowing underneath his black armor. There was a silver, ghost gun with a barrel the size of his head only a foot away from him. His breath caught in his throat. 

“The ghost boy lives,” Skulker drawled in his deep voice. “I had worried someone had killed you again before you became a prize of mine.”

“I’m not your prize,” Danny spat. 

“I’ll treat you better than your last captors. You should be begging to be added to my collection.”

“Should have asked the last captors,” Danny breathed. “I don’t beg.”

A large hand grabbed his throat and lifted him off the bed. Danny couldn’t breath and both his hands instinctively went to Skulker’s arm, but only his left could grab on and resist. 

“So the rumors are true?” Skulker sneered. 

“Not…all of…them.”

Danny glanced over at his dad. How the hell was he sleeping through this? 

Skulker threw Danny onto the floor, abruptly disconnecting him from the IV. The bleeding in his vein was the least of his worries, his side pulled at the open wound. His back had taken the brunt of it and he screamed in agony. 

“Go ghost, child,” Skulker commanded. “I will only capture a worthy opponent.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Danny said, reaching into his ghost core. He embraced the familiar coolness and power and let it wash over him. The room glowed white briefly and he was Phantom again. “Because you just might get it.” Danny raised his left hand to shoot ectoplasm. 

Skulker dodged. Danny shot into the air, able to fly with his ghost tail. His right hand was still useless though.

Skulker flew right at him, grabbing him from around his shoulders and barreling into the wall. Danny turned intangible and the next thing he knew, they were outside. His casts were gone when he regained his solid form.

He would need to finish this quickly. 

Skulker shot an electric net at him. Danny quickly dodged under it, and flew to Skulker, attempting to land a staggering punch. Skulker caught him around the wrist instead and threw him in the other direction. 

“You need to work on your fishing skills,” Danny shouted. 

Skulker paused. “I would say your captors took your catch phrases, but you never had any good ones to begin with.”

He raised his left hand again to fire, but his aim was shit and he missed entirely. Skulker grabbed him again, and this time he couldn’t go intangible. Skulker was prepared. Skulker flew straight towards the ground, holding Danny underneath him. Danny screamed, but his wail wouldn’t come. 

He flew upward with all his might, slowing his descent in Skulker’s grip. 

Skulker released him a foot from the ground and Danny recoiled, shrieking at the impact. His back was a mess of blood and ectoplasm. His saw spots dance across his vision. Skulker was standing on top of him, holding his chest down with a heavy boot. 

“I’d expected so much more from you,” Skulker leered. 

“You know, ah, what the problem is, mmm, with setting the bar high?” Danny wheezed. His breath was coming in short gasps of pain. Skulker gripped his left arm and raised it above him. Danny winced at the pain in his left side, and couldn’t finish his retort. 

Skulker suddenly threw Danny’s body up in the air, keeping a tight hold on his wrist until the last possible second. Danny’s vision went black as felt his side rip apart. 

He regained consciousness on the ground again. Skulker was forming some kind of snare made of ghost ropes and electricity. 

Danny could barely move. 

Skulker came back over again. Danny opened his mouth and breathed out ice as powerfully as he could. He raised his left hand and encased Skulker in ice. This would have to buy him a few minutes. 

_Thermos._ He thought urgently. _Thermos._

Danny could still fly, but only barely. He went to his hospital room. Of course his dad wouldn’t have brought one in, he was trying to make Danny feel safe. That would change after tonight. 

He phased through the wall; he couldn’t use either of his arms well enough to open the door. His mother was curled up on the bench, a backpack at her feet. Danny reappeared and shook his mom’s shoulder. 

She jolted awake.

“Phantom?” She gasped.

“I need a thermos.”

“Of course,” Maddie shook her head and pulled one out from behind her. “Are you under attack?”

“Yeah, thanks!” Danny phased back outside. Skulker was gone. 

_Fuck._

Danny leaned against the corner of the building, holding the thermos tight to his chest. He heard Skulker approach from behind the wall. Danny jumped out and aimed the thermos, removing the lid. 

Skulker got off a shot from the huge gun he’d had earlier before he was sucked into the thermos. Danny held up his right arm to take most of the blow, but it still ricocheted into his chest. Pain blossomed across his entire chest, especially in the wound in his side. Whatever the doctors had fixed _inside_ him had ripped too. 

He was falling out of the sky. He was six stories up; the fall would kill him! He tried to reach into his ghost core but the feeling was gone. 

_No, NO! I can’t die like this!_

Danny was staring up at the sky, growing further and further away. His vision was getting darker. 

He felt the familiar feeling of something pulling at him, stretching his body out. 

What?

He briefly saw his mother holding another Fenton Thermos before everything was dark. 

…

He came too on the pavement, but he didn’t remember an impact. 

It took him a little too long to realize where he was. He was on the ground. At the hospital. Skulker had attacked. Danny had sucked him into a thermos, and then fell out of the sky. 

Maddie had been there. She sucked him into a thermos. She still didn’t believe that he was her son, that he was half human too and only trying to help. 

Danny noticed his mother was kneeling next to him, the thermos by her side. It was cold out and Danny was freezing. He was still in ghost form. He was nauseous, dizzy, and clammy. His body was shivering uncontrollably. 

“Danny!” His mother gasped, running a hand through his snow white hair. 

Danny flinched away from her. She’d sucked him into a thermos! She was capturing him again!

“Danny, baby,” She said again. She seemed to be at a loss for words. “I’m sorry about the Thermos. I…you would have died if you hit the ground. It was the only thing I could think to do!” 

She was sobbing. 

Danny was terrified, but the pain in his side was unbearable and he winced aloud, trying to bring his hand to his side. It was all he could focus on. 

“Danny, turn back to human!” His mother ordered. “You’re at the hospital, they can help! But only if you’re human.”

His mother picked him up, carrying him from under his knees and back. He was lighter in ghost form and he could tell his mother was surprised at his weight. He turned back to human when she reached the double doors. He could feel his mother tense under his new weight. 

He passed out before his mother even reached the desk. 

...

The second Vlad returned, he knew something was terribly wrong. Danny was still in the ICU even though they were talking about releasing him soon, let alone moving him out of the wing. All the clues the hospital gave him, the sad look the doctors gave him was nothing compared to the growing anxiety he was feeling. He was only a hallway away now and he still couldn’t feel Danny’s core. 

Vlad turned his brisk walk into a sprint, forgetting briefly that he could go ghost or teleport there. He barged into the room. Jack and Maddie were sitting beside Danny. Maddie wasn’t touching him, but Jack held his left hand. 

Danny was leaning almost upright against the bed, as usual, but he was unconscious. This wasn’t his normal sleep though, this seemed like he’d been asleep for a while. Too long. Maddie and Jack both looked up at him. Worry ate away at their features, aging them. 

“What happened?” Vlad demanded, coming to Danny’s right side. He ran his fingers through Danny’s hair. 

“A ghost attacked him,” Maddie said. 

“Which ghost?” Vlad demanded, anger searing deep within him. He felt Plasmius awaken, the brutal, cruel ghost that he worked to contain. It took everything he had to suppress him. Danny needed him right now. 

“I don’t know.”

Jack gestured at the pillow under Danny’s leg. “The one he and I are fighting.”

_Skulker._

“He’s in here,” Maddie held up a thermos. “Danny trapped him.”

“Where were you two?”

“I slept through the whole thing,” Jack’s voice was heavy, and Vlad could tell he was ashamed and guilty. “I didn’t have a thermos in here to show him I meant no harm.”

“He woke me to get a thermos.” Maddie added. “I tried to help him at the end.”

Vlad was shaking. He could see his hand trembling in Danny’s hair; even his legs were unsteady. Was this worry or rage? Was it both? Was that possible? 

“Give me the thermos,” Vlad said simply.

“Why?”

“I’m going to make sure no other ghosts attack him.”

Maddie handed him the thermos. He started for the door. He was going to go right to the ghost zone and make it clear that Danny was under his protection. He needed to punch something. He needed to punch something over and over again, and Skulker was going to be his outlet. 

“Where are you going?” Maddie demanded. 

“To fix this!” Vlad roared.

“Please, that can wait,” she pleaded. “Danny may not wake up again. And he trusts you, you need to be here for him.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAY NOT WAKE?” Vlad stormed right back over to Danny.

“The ghost tore open the wound from the surgery. And he took a bad shot to his chest, he’s bleeding internally. They operated, but they say he nearly bled out. They’re not sure he’ll recover from this.”

Vlad nodded, his tongue tied. He couldn’t do this. He could feel that Danny’s core was weak, almost as weak as when he had showed up on Vlad’s doorstep. His body was failing him. 

Beating the shit out of every ghost he could find was going to have to wait. 

He knew what he had to do. It had worked once before. Since Vlad still couldn’t figure out how to heal the injured boy with his powers, he would need to charge his ghost core. 

“Can I have a moment alone with him?” Vlad asked. “Please.” It was a struggle to keep his voice calm. 

Jack and Maddie shared a look, and then left wordlessly. 

Vlad turned into Plasmius. Once again, he overshadowed the gravely injuring boy. It was even easier this time, which worried Vlad. He joined their cores. 

It was so much worse than jumping into an ice-cold pool. The shock to his system was overwhelming. Danny’s core was like a ravaged, starving animal; it latched on tight and was sucking out his energy and strength. The first time had been much gentler. This time it hurt. 

Vlad reminded himself that this was nothing compared to the pain Danny was in; to the pain he had suffered. Vlad would do anything for this boy and if that meant letting his dying core take whatever it could, then so be it.  
His thoughts slowed. It took him far too long to recognize the signs of hypothermia. He pulled away from Danny, separating their cores. Danny’s core was unwilling to let go. Vlad could almost picture Danny whimpering at the loss. 

Vlad removed his consciousness from Danny’s. He collapsed into the chair by Danny’s bed. He couldn’t even hold onto Plasmius and he transformed back into the human. He felt drained. Empty even. But there was still some embers left and he knew he would be fine soon. 

Danny’s parents came back in. Maddie looked at the exhausted Vlad and Danny. 

“What did you do?”

“The only thing that might help him,” Vlad panted. 

“Hey, Mads,” Jack asked.

Maddie followed Jack’s gaze over to the heart monitor. Vlad shifted his neck a little so he could see as well. 

“His blood pressure is rising; and his pulse! It’s returning to normal.”

Vlad was stunned. How was that happening so quickly? Perhaps he had activated some sort of healing powers again. Perhaps Danny just needed the strength and energy. 

He reached out with his senses again, and he felt the ice cold being only a foot from him. Vlad smiled. He would do this as often as Danny needed. 

Jack and Maddie held each other close and both broke into sobs. 

Vlad closed his eyes, just for a few seconds. He had no idea how long he was out when a quiet voice woke him. 

“Mom, dad?” It pulled Vlad out of his stupor. He couldn’t sleep now. 

“Danny!” Maddie squealed. 

“Vlad?”  
Vlad opened his eyes, which was quite a force. 

“Hey little badger.” Vlad smiled at him. He was so relieved to see that kind boy awake and talking. 

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” 

“I’m fine, how are you?” Vlad assured. 

_You’re not fine_

A voice in his head that most definitely wasn’t his came through. Vlad recoiled and Danny looked equally as surprised. 

_Wait, you heard that?_

_Yes, I heard that!_ Vlad thought back. _What on Earth?_

_Really, what’d you do?_

_I melded our ghost cores. Yours was dying so I gave it some of my energy._

Danny’s face grew alarmed in shock. 

_That’s dangerous? Our cores are complete opposites!_

_I’m aware Daniel, it’s the only thing I could do to save your life._

_Is that why we have telepathy powers now?_

_Perhaps. I am honestly not sure._

_Holy fuck._

And Vlad chuckled. _Language little badger._

_Hey! I can think whatever I like! You’re the one listening in! You can’t say anything when I haven’t said it aloud and you’re eavesdropping._

_I’m not eavesdropping, you’re practically shouting at me._

_Well, that wasn’t directed at you._

“Um, Vladdie? Danny?” Jack asked, waving a hand in front of Danny.

“What sorry?” Danny asked, looking up at Jack. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Um, like I got hit by a bus.”

He grinned, but his parents didn’t think it was funny. 

Danny looked over at his mom and Vlad sensed his fear. 

“What happened?” Danny asked. 

“A ghost attacked you,” Maddie offered. Danny flinched away from her as she approached him. “I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t want to scare you, but I couldn’t let you hit the ground, you’d die.”

“You sucked me into a thermos,” Danny said. 

Maddie nodded. 

Danny moaned and leaned back into the pillows. 

Vlad could hear the confusion of thoughts. He made out a few, replaying over and over. _His mom was capturing him his chest was hurting, but Vlad was there and the pillow his dad made how long had he been asleep where was Skulker._

 _Daniel stop,_ Vlad sent the thought over to Danny sensing he was working himself into a panic.  
_You’re thoughts are starting to give me a headache._

 _Yeah, well try being in my head._

Vlad grinned at him. 

_You’re safe, little badger. I know there is a lot going on and it’s overwhelming. Just relax okay?_

_I was going to die wasn’t I?_

_I don’t know. I don’t think you will now though._

_I’m pathetic._

Vlad sensed that thought wasn’t directed towards him, but he heard it anyway.

“Daniel,” He said sternly and it took him a moment to realize he was speaking out loud. “I never want to hear you say that again.”

“I didn’t even say anything!” Danny objected. 

_Well, I don’t want you to think it again._ Vlad added. 

_I can’t help what I think!_

_You’re not pathetic, Daniel._

_How can you say that?_

_Because I know it. You are one of the strongest individuals I’ve ever met. You have such a strength to you. I couldn’t have survived what you did._

_Yeah, well, if I really survived it, I’d be able to defend myself, and I wouldn’t be almost dying, and I wouldn’t be so fucking scared all the time. I wouldn’t panic and I wouldn’t need all this help. I’d be able to just get over it and move on._

_None of those make you pathetic._

_Are you insinuating I don’t know what pathetic means?_

Under any other circumstances, he would have laughed. He loved teasing Danny, but not now. Not when Danny was being so open and vulnerable with him. 

_That’s not what I’m insinuating at all._

_I know._

Vlad received the thought and could hear the defeat, even through their silent communication. Vlad could feel all of Danny’s insecurities. The inadequacy, the fear, the shame, the doubt and self-loathing. He was still confused and didn’t know why. He was skeptical and trying to let himself believe what Vlad was telling him. He prayed Danny could feel all Vlad’s pride, confidence and love Vlad had for him. Did their mental connection work like this? Could he just send reassurance? 

_You think highly of me, but I can’t figure out why,_ Danny continued. 

“Earth to Danny?” Jack said. “Are you okay?”

Danny looked up at him. “Yeah, I’m just having a telepathy battle with Vlad, give me a few minutes.”

Vlad was stunned, and looked up at Danny’s parents, embarrassed. He hadn’t expected Danny to say that aloud or acknowledge their new found connection. He sounded angry, flustered. 

_As I was thinking,_ Danny thought at him. _I can’t do anything right. I’m failing school. I have like two friends, and I want to be astronaut and I’ll never be one now, my parents hate me because I’m a monster who’s been keeping secrets from them for years._

 _You’re not a monster_ drifted across Vlad’s mind, interrupting Danny’s tangent. 

_I am! And I try to do something good and I can’t! I fail at even being a super hero even though I have tons of super powers. People have been killed by ghosts! They’ve terrorized my city because I’m there. I couldn’t even fight off Skulker of all ghosts the other night. And now that I was kidnapped, I’m a pathetic mess who can’t do anything, and I panic, and I can’t even face my parents or my friends. I can’t even give my life to protect those I love because I’m already dead!_

_Are you finished?_ Vlad asked. _May I rebuttal now?_

Danny huffed and crossed arms across his chest. Vlad looked over at his parents, who were watching the interaction with confused, interested glances. 

Vlad forced himself to stand, his feet wobbling as he pushed himself up. Danny’s eyes immediately locked on him, and he extended his arms, as if he was going to catch him if he fell. Vlad made his way over to Danny and sat beside him, still too weak to stand for a long time. 

_That’s my rebuttal,_ Vlad thought at him. 

_What?_

_You went to catch me. You would have been at my side to help, had you been healthy enough. You value others so much. You are so caring, and you are strong, and brave and passionate in the face of protecting those you love. And you love fiercely. I would hate to stand between you and your friends or family. You were kidnapped. You fought tooth and nail to escape, unwilling to harm anyone, even those sick bastards who deserve so much worse. You protected your identity so you wouldn’t hurt your mother, didn’t you?_

_How’d you know?_

Vlad smiled at him. _I’m in your head now, I know tons of things._

Danny playfully shoved him. 

_And who’s fault is that?_

Vlad laughed, and wrapped his arm around him. 

_When I finish my rebuttal,_ Vlad started. 

_You’re not done!_

_No. I am not. I have many kind and true things to say about you. But if you’d let me finish, when I’m done, we can work on this telepathy thing. As nice as this is, I do respect your privacy. Also, it is quite impractical to hear each other’s thoughts constantly._

_Yeah! Like what if you’re having a wet dream or something?_

_Butter biscuits; that’s gross Daniel. Why would you even think of that?_

To his delight though, Danny laughed. It was the first time Danny had laughed since showing up on Vlad’s doorstep. Vlad squeezed his shoulders in response. 

_Ha. Ha. Laugh it up._ Vlad thought sending his amusement and happiness in Danny’s direction. _Though this will not distract me from finishing my side of the argument._

_Stubborn old millionaire used to getting whatever you want._

_And don’t you forget it._

Danny grinned. _Well, finish your argument. Get it over with._

_You are smarter than you give yourself credit for. You’re hard working, and you can still do anything you set your mind to. You can’t fault yourself for losing battles, especially this one with Skulker. They have years of experience using their powers where you only a have a few. And you’re incredibly injured. That’s not a sign of incompetence or weakness, the GIW did that to you and that’s not your fault. The box ghost probably could have bested you._

_I thought you were supposed to be cheering me up. That was a low blow._

_I’m sorry little badger, but you get my point. And you are far from worthless. You are a light, no a beacon of warmth and light and courage for everyone around you. I, for one, love you, and I don’t care for anything that isn’t valuable. And you know how protective I am of the things I love._

Danny smiled. 

_Thank you._ Danny thought. _I don’t believe you, but I want to._

_And that’s a good start. I’ll take it for now. But expect me to tell you these things constantly until you finally believe me._

_I’m sorry._

_Daniel, none of that._

_I can’t help that I’m sorry! I am! I almost died, and I worried you which I would never want to do!_

_I can handle it. Worry about you and getting better. I can handle everything else._

_You’re so controlling._

_Says the pot calling the kettle black._

Danny huffed and rolled his eyes again. 

“Um, are you two done?” Jack asked. 

_I don’t know, are we?_ Danny asked. 

_For now._

Danny snorted and looked over at his dad. 

“We’re done,” Danny answered. 

“You gave us quite the scare.”

“Sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be sorry. Are you okay though?” 

“I think so. My chest really hurts.”

Danny’s dad placed his hand on his shoulder. 

“Get some rest okay? The doctors will be in a few.” 

Danny nodded, and relaxed back into the pillows. Vlad could tell how much he was hurting and how tired he still was. 

“Go back to sleep Daniel,” Vlad ordered. 

_Will you stay?_ Danny asked. 

_Of course. I do want to run an errand, but I will be quick. I won’t leave until you give me permission._

_What kind of errand?_

_I’m going to beat Skulker so bad he’s going to wish he never died._

Danny grinned at him. 

_I’ve never met someone more vengeful than you,_ Danny thought.

 _I told you how protective I am of those I love. It’s taking all my willpower to resist killing him again right here and now. But I promise I will stay with you. My vengeance will be put on hold._

_How sweet of you,_ Vlad grinned at the sarcasm. 

_Get some sleep, Daniel. You still need the rest. Next time you wake up, I think you’re getting solid food._

_Oh boy! Solid food! What great feat will I accomplish next?_

_Anything you want, little badger,_ Vlad smiled sincerely at him. 

Danny smiled back and tried to curl up onto his side. Danny winced and instead remained on his back. He was asleep within minutes. Vlad dozed off again as well. He was going to need strength for what he had planned for Skulker.


	12. Chapter 12

Vlad lay Danny in the massive bed, being reminded of that first time he tucked Danny in. He was still terribly injured; but after the ghost attack it was too dangerous to keep him in the hospital. Skulker had torn open wounds on his back, along with all the other open wounds across his body. The only silver lining was that they had treated Danny’s torn stomach, drained his lungs, and began antibiotic treatments. He could afford the insurance for hiring nurses and doctors to make private visits. 

He couldn’t deny that he was more comfortable in his own mansion. Sam, and Danny’s entire family had come as well. Vlad had plenty of guest rooms, and more people would make caring for Danny significantly easier, but he couldn’t pretend to want Jack or Maddie around. Jack was an obnoxious oaf; but Danny had started to feel comfortable around his dad and Vlad couldn’t take that away. He didn’t trust Maddie to live in the same house as her son; but she had agreed to give them space until Danny was ready. He wouldn’t even know she was there. Sam and Jazz were equally as obnoxious, but in a way that Vlad could stomach. They too hovered over Danny, held his hand, whispered soothing words when he panicked and took up the task of caring for Danny with gusto. He appreciated their presence even though they aggravated him enough to raise his blood pressure. Beyond that, they threatened to bring out Plasmius, and he knew that wouldn’t help anyone. 

Vlad hadn’t realized he was lost in his own thoughts until he heard a soft moan from the bed. 

“Hey, little badger,” Vlad said, sitting down next to Danny. 

“Hey.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Restless.”

Vlad smiled at him. “That’s gotta suck. Are you comfortable at least?”

“As comfortable as I can be, I suppose.”

“It’s only a few more days in bed before you get up and move around the house.”

“Fucking Skulker.”

“Language.”

“I was almost ready for a wheel chair! I’m so sick of this.”

“I know.” Vlad said. “When you’re better, you and I can beat the crap out of Skulker together. Prove a point about messing you.”

Danny smiled, but then it fell. 

“I don’t want to cause anyone any pain.” he muttered. 

“Skulker is dead already. Beating him isn’t going to make any difference.”

Danny shrugged, but then winced in pain. 

“When I was in the hospital,” Danny said. “I read something on my laptop.”

Vlad listened patiently. 

“It was a fanfiction. I remember Tucker reading it. Thought maybe things would end up that way or I could relate. A character gets captured during a space war. But then his friends, his family who fight with him in space rescue him. They help him get better and they defeat the bad guys and win the space war.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“Please, you’re not my therapist.”

“No, I pay good money for one of those.”

Danny rolled his eyes. Vlad knew the defensiveness was hiding the insecurities and fear he was feeling. And the fact that he could take a witty retort spoke wonders about his comfort with Vlad. 

“You were saying,” Vlad said.

“Well, first off. He was rescued, I escaped. And…well, he got better. They stuck him in a healing pod, he had about a day of severe PTSD, then he had a meltdown and his team said they loved him and they kicked the bad guys butts. A happy ending.”

Vlad nodded this time, knowing better than to interrupt, except this time Danny didn’t continue. 

“What’re you saying?” Vlad asked. 

“I don’t know…just…it ended. Like I understand we don’t have healing pods, and that sucks. But, no offense but I had to escape on my own and then come to my arch enemy for help. It seems like no one’s there. And like, things were fine. Like obviously not perfect, there were still issues, but its fine. And I’m not.”

“That was a story.”

“I know, but that’s the expectation. Like everyone, including me expects me to just feel better. I want it to be like that story. And everyone, you, the doctors, dad, my dumb therapist, they all say to be patient. But how can I be patient when the rest of the world isn’t going to be patient with me? When I can’t be a hero like everyone expects. Also like they defeated the enemy. He was assured this would never happen to him or anyone ever again. But…it’s my mom, and the government of the country I live in. How do you conquer those or feel safe?” 

“If you think she’s dumb I can hire a new one.”

“That wasn’t my point.” Danny turned away sulkily. 

“I know.” Vlad put his hand on his shoulder. “I know this is hard. And that’s a good point, that you can’t just defeat them and move on. It’s a closure problem. And I don’t have any good answers for that right now. But I do want to address something you said a little earlier.”

Danny looked back at him expectantly. 

“You’re not alone. I know you escaped, but had I known where you were, I would have done anything to get you out of there. And I’m so sorry that I couldn’t be there for you. That no one was. But you’re not alone now. You have me, and Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and your parents.”

“There’s the problem! I had parents. What do you do when your support system is the same people who caused the damage you’re trying to get through? Like the torture at the GIW is mixed with moms love and watching the stars and her encouraging me to be astronaut. And dad’s enthusiasm and support and is mixed with all the fear of being torn apart molecule by molecule. And you! Your comfort and kindness is mixed with suspicion and manipulation. I know you’re trying to be nice and I appreciate it, but everything is so complicated. It’s hard to feel comfortable or loved when they all come with associated pain.”

“That was very articulate.”

“That dumb therapist makes me practice explaining how I feel.”

“Well, it’s very helpful to the rest of us.”

“I just want everything to go back to normal.”

“What is normal?” Vlad asked. 

“Huh?”

“Is normal having ghost powers and using them to fight crime from another dimension? Having ghost powers and pretending you don’t? Or just being a kid who goes to high school and wants to go to space so he can get as far from this planet as possible.”

“I don’t know. I was never normal. I guess having ghost powers, but maybe not using them as much. I was never popular.”

“That’s an understatement, Daniel. The kids at school tormented you.”

“But I’m not crazy about having enemies or anything that happened after. But having ghost powers makes me feel so free and alive!” 

“That’s quite the oxymoron,” Vlad commented. “But I understand. And there’s one of very many issues plaguing you. You can’t go ghost yet. You can’t fly or fight off the bad guys. Your control is gone.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Do you want me to get Sam and Jazz? Perhaps they have fewer negative emotions attached?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Sam is so complicated too. I liked, like really liked her. And it’s the thought of seeing her again that kept me going. I think I might actually love her. She’s been with me through everything and I admire her so much. I thought she might have liked me back. But then this happened. I don’t know how she could like me now. I’m gross and weak and pathetic and…”

“Enough of that Daniel,” Vlad interrupted. “You know you’re not. And she’s here now. It had been months and she’s still here. I guarantee you, she likes you back and sees the strength and courage and bravery that the rest of us missed for years.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And maybe while now isn’t the best time to be making a move on her, I think that’s a problem that can be put on the back burner. She wants to be here for you. And you should let her.”

Danny smiled. 

“Ok.”

...

Vlad slowly closed the door to Danny’s room so as not to wake him. 

He almost walked right into Sam as he turned around quickly. 

“Vlad,” She said in the haughty obnoxious tone she had mastered. 

“Can I help you?”

“How is he?” 

“He’s asleep right now. Jack is with him.”

“That wasn’t what I was asking.”

“Then what were you asking?”

“How is he? Like how’s he doing?”

“He’s going through a rough time,” Vlad said, calculating. He didn’t know what she was asking for, and didn’t know how much Danny wanted her to know.

Sam crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. 

“He’s having a hard time feeling comfortable with me, and his parents,” Vlad elaborated. 

“Can’t imagine why.”

“Okay, what is it you really want?” Vlad demanded. 

“Perhaps we shouldn’t do this outside Danny’s door. He’s a light sleeper.” 

“Of course,” Vlad said. 

He followed Sam downstairs to his lounge. Jazz was waiting on the couch looking equally as angry with arms crossed and clenched jaw. 

Neither he nor Sam sat down. 

Vlad could already feel himself getting hot; Plasmius was just itching to come out and throw both the teenagers out of his house. Why couldn’t they just understand that he was trying to help?

“Where was Danny?” Sam asked, not backing away from him even though Vlad towered over her. 

“At the GIW,” Vlad answered. 

“And the creator of the GIW had nothing to do with his imprisonment?” 

“What? Of course not?”

Jazz stood up and came to stand next to Sam. “You do remember the petitions and funding offered to the government? They were working for you.”

“Only at the beginning. I cut their funding when they started taking an interest in Plasmius. Besides, I only funded searching for the Phantom and other ghosts. I never even suggested experimentation or prison facilities. If anything those were my interests.”

“So the GIW did your dirty work and you got all the data?” Jazz asked. 

“Of course not!” 

“What data could you even have gotten? That wasn’t experimentation, that was torture!” Sam shouted. 

“I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!” Vlad matched her volume, practically seeing steam float off his skin. “And I wish I had! Because had I still been involved in that awful organization, or in Danny’s life, I would have known where he was, and I could have helped him!” 

“Or was this your plan?” Sam demanded. “Have him imprisoned and tortured, ruin every relationship he has, and you just swoop in and repair the broken Danny into the son you wanted!” 

“That isn’t what I wanted at all! I would never wish this kind of pain on anyone."

“Prove it.”

“ASK DANIEL!” Vlad roared. “He knows I didn’t do this! I’ve been nothing but kind to him!” 

“We’ve tried!” Jazz said. Suddenly she sat down, holding her face in her hands. “He won’t tell us anything!” 

“Daniel doesn’t owe you, or anyone, an explanation about what happened to him,” Vlad said coolly. 

Sam was still glaring angrily, but Vlad noticed tears in her eyes. She was only trying to protect her friend, just as Vlad was. 

He forced himself to take a deep breath. These teens were not a nuisance; and fighting wasn’t going to help anyone. 

“I swear, I had no involvement in his capture,” Vlad said. “I don’t know how to convince you, and frankly, I’m not going to waste my time trying.” 

He turned on his heel, and left, afraid of waking Plasmius and making everything worse, as always. 

“Mr. Masters,” Sam called. 

“Yes?” he asked, stopping in place and turning his head. 

“Thanks for helping him. He’s lucky to have you.”

"I wouldn’t go that far, Ms. Manson. But I appreciate the sentiment.”

...

“And this controls the jets.”

“If it has jets, what’s the difference between this and a hot tub?” Danny asked. 

Vlad smiled at him. 

“Easy. Hot tubs belong outside. This is a specialized indoor spa. Besides it’s equipped to deal with soap and cleaning rather than being an over sized glorified pot for people to sit in.”

“Okay. Then what’s the difference between a hot tub and a jacuzzi?” 

“I think size, but don’t quote me on that one.”

Danny nodded. 

“This controls the drain,” and Vlad demonstrated how to drain the water and simultaneously add new hot water. “Try not to splash all over the heated tile.”

“I don’t know Vlad, a bathtub with more buttons than your tv makes me uncomfortable.”

Vlad laughed. His laugh was higher than Danny always expected, and he sounded like he would snort if laughing too hard. Danny made it a personal goal of his to see it happen. 

“Would you rather I buy one that’s voice controlled?” Vlad asked. 

“That’s worse, I think.”

“I’ve already set some towels on the warmer.”

Danny frowned. The idea of heated towels and a warm floor was amazing. He felt like a prince. And being spoiled by Vlad definitely felt nice; he had always been desperate for his parent’s attention and Vlad sort of filled that void. But it felt wrong too. He didn’t deserve all this attention and Vlad was only giving it because he was stupid and couldn’t work a bath tub on his own. 

But was Vlad only spoiling him because he was lonely and wanted to pour his money and attention somewhere? Was he so broken that he needed all this extra help? He was only hindering Vlad and he knew it. 

“Daniel?” Vlad asked, waving his hand in front of Danny’s face. 

He jumped. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay? Because if you zone out and drown I’ll be quite angry with you.”

“I’ll be fine. Ghosts don’t even have to breathe.” 

“Yes, but humans do.”

Danny couldn’t argue with that one. 

“I’ll be right outside,” Vlad said. “I know that embarrasses you, but you’ve been out of the hospital for barely a day and, well, you never know. Also, the spa is complicated so if you have any questions just yell.”

Danny nodded again. He still needed baby sitting?

Vlad left. Danny didn’t lock the door. Vlad respected his privacy and a lock wouldn’t stop the other half ghost if he really wanted to come in. He was sitting on the toilet seat and it was too much effort to get to the door and lock it anyway. 

Danny looked at the tub for a minute. He didn’t like being on crutches in the bathroom. He couldn’t maneuver and he worried the crutches would slip and he’d fall. Tile hurt the worst. Danny slipped off his shoe, sock and shirt with ease. It was the rest that would be an issue. 

The nurses had helped him dress earlier that morning. He’d been on crutches before but never with a cast this size; encasing almost his entire right leg. Slipping anything over the cast was a difficult to say the least.   
Danny had to force off his sweats and boxers, feeling exposed and cold without them. He shivered and swallowed back the tightness in his throat. He pulled himself up with his crutches and stood there for a second, looking at the deep spa-tub. 

How would he get in? He was forbidden from showering given he couldn’t stand on one of his legs or get that same leg wet. It would be dangerous. It wasn’t just Vlad who said that. It was both his parents, his friends, and all the doctors. Danny agreed but a shower would have been so nice. Vlad had showed him how to drain the water so he wasn’t actually wallowing in his own filth, but it didn’t change how he felt about it. A shower would have literally washed away everything bothering him. All the sweat. All the grime from not showering. All the blood and ectoplasm that he knew was gone but could still feel. All the cum that wasn’t his. 

He shivered again. That would all sit in the water with him. 

He suddenly had the urge to change his mind. But he felt so disgusting that he needed to do something about it. And he was simply freezing and hadn’t brought in a change of clothes. 

“stupid,” he muttered under his breath. If his head wasn’t lost in the clouds all the damn time he would have remembered. 

But how to actually get in the tub? 

He couldn’t stand his right leg at all. In the past, it’d always been his arm, or his leg could at least bear his weight for a short time. He couldn’t just put the bad leg in first because it couldn’t get wet. He was just as stupid as all the bullies and bad grades had told him. He was stymied by a tub. 

Danny took a deep breath. It’d taken him far too long to recognize the downward spiral of thoughts that he often got sucked into. The doctors had warned him about this. He should try thinking positively. Instead of ‘I’m stupid, I can’t get into a bathtub,’ try ‘this is a new obstacle and I feel stuck, but I can figure it out.’

 _Bullshit._

Danny thought to himself. It was helpful to recognize the downward spiral of depressing thoughts, but he couldn’t deny the truths of them either. 

He forced himself to look critically at tub. Maybe for a few minutes, he could be a little intelligent. 

He sat down on the lip of the tub, and swung his good leg into the water. It was pleasantly warm, but not nearly hot enough for his liking. He clicked the button a few times and raised the temperature so much the water steamed. Perfect. 

He knew the water was way too hot for most people. But he was always so cold, and the hot water soothed him. It was the only way he felt almost warm. He also liked the steamy, heaviness of the air around him. It was a change from the dry hospital room and the even drier laboratory. 

Danny placed his hands behind him on the other side of the tub and lowered his body into the water, keeping his right leg raised on the lip. 

He sighed. 

The warmth soothed so many aches that he hadn’t realized were there. He felt instantly warmer. He awarded himself the small accomplishment, and rebuttled his depression, telling himself he was sort of intelligent, and had solved the problem.

He let his arms drop into the water and leaned back into the cushy bench. 

This was a good idea. 

He took the soap off the shelf and scrubbed his entire body a few times over. Some of his skin was raw from rubbing, but it still made him feel better. Danny drained the water and refilled it with the same temperature, steaming water. He turned one of the jets on. 

He sighed again as the jets pounded at the knots in his back and leg. It was gentle enough that it didn’t hurt but powerful enough to soothe the muscles. 

And for the first time in months, his thoughts quieted, and he embraced the feeling of peace and bliss in the spa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penny for your thoughts? :)  
> Thank you everyone again!


	13. Chapter 13

Vlad cheered that the Packers had scored. It was only a field goal, but it would bother Danny. He smiled widely and looked over at him. Danny was slumped over on the other couch, asleep. 

Vlad had the impulse to chuck a pillow at him, but hesitated, hand raised with his projectile aimed. He knew better than that. Danny had trouble sleeping and on the rare occasion he felt comfortable and warm enough to fall asleep; Vlad had to let him. 

He reached out with their newly found mental connection, to make sure he was truly asleep, and all was well. 

What he received though, was overwhelming fear, pain, loneliness, self-hatred, and heartbreak. 

Danny’s brow was scrunched, and his mouth was pulled tight in pain. 

Vlad pushed a little harder, now wishing his probing would wake him up. 

He saw darkness. Vlad wasn’t in pain, but he could feel Danny’s anguish, pushing against him. 

He pushed further and found himself in a dark hallway. He was looking up at red emergency lights, an exit sign at the end of the hall and darkened fluorescent lights. The walls and floor were white tile that looked ghostly in the red light. There were panels every few yards down the hall. 

“What the fudge bars?” He asked aloud. 

He walked down the hall, not sure what he was looking for. The hall didn’t seem to go anywhere. But the agony and terror was stronger here. Vlad could sense the presence and followed it. 

He found a panel on the left side. A little slot to put his hand in slid out. Vlad placed his hand there, and to his surprise, the door opened. 

He gasped aloud and ran to Danny. 

Danny was naked and chained to the ceiling by his wrists, feet dangling a few inches off the ground. His head was hung low so his chin rested on his chest. His labored breathing echoed around the small chamber. He was in ghost form, and all the wounds Vlad had seen when Danny had showed up on his doorstep were there as well. Most were weeping ectoplasm and the greenish skin around them were pink. His feet were also chained together, and as an added precaution tethered to the floor. Ectoplasm was dripping out of his chapped lips. 

Danny flinched and lifted his head when Vlad entered. There was a blindfold tied around his eyes, making his snow white hair stick up awkwardly. 

“Daniel!” Vlad said, and went to remove the blindfold. 

Danny shrieked and started shaking. He could hear the chains clinking.

“Easy, easy,” Vlad said slowly and gently. “It’s just me, Vlad.” 

Vlad removed the blindfold and was met with wide green eyes. Vlad smiled at him, trying to be assuring. 

“Plasmius!” he gasped. “W-what are you doing here?” 

“I’m going to help you out of here.”

Vlad took off his shirt and tied it around Danny’s waist. Danny blushed, but seemed a little less afraid. 

Vlad reached his hands up to where Danny’s manacles were latched to the ceiling. The manacles burned against his fingers and he pulled away. He looked at his fingers; there were blisters forming. 

“Butter biscuits,” he said. “Daniel, are these special ectoplasm restraints?” 

Danny nodded. 

Vlad took a second to take in his surroundings. Originally it had been dark, with few details in the hall. Now the world was bright, sterile white. He could see every crease in the tiles and all the drops of blood, ectoplasm, and feces underneath Danny. 

Where was he? Weren’t they in his den? Then it occurred to him. This must be Danny’s dream or some sort of projection in his head. This was how his damaged mind saw himself, embarrassed, wounded, chained, dirty, and a host of other negative feelings. 

“Daniel, do you know how to get down?”

“The guards usually release me.” His voice waved when he spoke. 

“Daniel, look at me,” Vlad said gently. Danny raised his head.

“Do you know where you are?”

“I…The GIW…”

“You’re in my den. We’re watching football.”

“What?”

“You fell asleep. I think this is some sort of dream.”

“Then how are you here?”

“Remember our weird mental connection. I accidentally got into your mind, I think.”

“But…this feels real.”

“I know. Dreams normally do.”

Danny looked down again. Vlad wrapped his arms around Danny’s waist and hefted him little higher.  
Danny gasped and instinctively tried to knee him and squirm away. 

“Easy, easy,” Vlad said. “You’re having trouble breathing. I’m just going to help until we find a way to get you out of here.”

Danny blushed again. Then he started coughing. 

“Daniel, if we’re in your dream, do you know what that means?”

“What?” he rasped. 

“It means you’re in control. You can get yourself down.”

“How?”

“Just try. Picture it maybe. And remember, you are safe with me in my den. You’re asleep on my sofa. You are in control of your own body, and your own mind. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

Danny was quiet for a few minutes. Then he started to sob. 

“I can’t! This is a dream or a hallucination, you can’t be here.”

The door slid open again. Two men in white lab coats came in, one carried a tray of needles and an iv bag. The other carried a whip. 

Vlad let Danny down and attacked the men. He punched the one with the whip in the nose, whirled around and took a knife off the tray. He knocked the tray to the ground and plunged the knife into the man’s stomach, dropping him. He then turned on the other man, who flicked the whip menacingly.   
Danny flinched at the noise. 

Vlad quickly dodged the whip and plunged the knife into the man’s side. He fell too. For good measure, he kicked each man in the head to make sure they stayed unconscious. 

Danny looked incredibly confused, tears tinged with ectoplasm sliding down his cheeks. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said, watching the men out of the corner of his eyes. “Would the guards have a key?”

“I think so.”

Vlad searched the guards, but there were no keys. Danny looked so dejected. Vlad could feel it too. 

He suddenly realized what the guards meant. Danny wasn’t in control, even in his own head. He was still struggling and fighting against himself. They had broken his body and his mind. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Vlad said. Vlad was about eye- level with Danny this way. “Remember this is your dream. You can control it. Take a deep breath. Maybe you can’t let yourself down, but you make the guards have a key. I’ll help you out of here, but you have to help yourself first.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“Because I want to help. Your subconscious still views me as your enemy. Which means I can’t be part of your dream. I’m the real Vlad, who’s in the real world, missing the Packers game.”

Danny shook his head.

“Little badger, I believe in you. You can do this, I know it. They can’t hurt you anymore. Don’t let them keep at it, they have no right. You’re stronger than they are.”

It took a few more minutes of assurances and kind words before Danny calmed down. 

He looked over at the guards and watched a key ring materialize on the first man’s belt. 

“Look, little badger. You did it!”

Danny beamed. 

Vlad retrieved the keys and unlocked Danny’s wrists. Danny collapsed, and Vlad did his best to catch him and slowly lower him to the ground. He freed his feet as well. 

“Shall we get out of here?” Vlad asked kindly. 

Danny nodded. 

Vlad easily picked him up, sliding one arm under his knees and the other around Danny’s shoulders. Danny flinched, but eventually relaxed into his arms. 

“How do we get out of here?” Vlad asked. 

“I don’t know. I still don’t really understand what’s going on.”

“Don’t worry, little badger. You’re not alone. We can figure this out together. And you are safe this whole time, I promise.”

Danny nodded, and rested his head against his Vlad’s shoulder. Vlad looked down and smiled at him. 

“Do you have a safe place we can go?” Vlad asked. 

“What?”

“Somewhere in your mind that you can go?”

“I used to…they destroyed it…”

“How about you take me there. And we maybe we can work to rebuild it.”

The whole world around him shifted. He was standing in the foyer of an abandoned castle. There was rubble all around; broken furniture and glass, sharp pieces of porcelain and marble all in heaps surrounding them. There were pillars, doorways, and disconnected stairways still standing, but they were disjointed and stuck up like stalagmites. 

He sensed deep grief from Danny. There was immense sadness and lost there, but also fear, despair, hopelessness. 

“It’s okay, Daniel,” Vlad assured. “I know this looks bad, but we can rebuild it. All it takes is time, and patience. I’m with you every step of the way, little badger. You are so strong, we can get through this. Okay?”

“I want to believe you.”

The rubble shifted around them. 

“That’s good Daniel. That’s a start. And a start is all you need.” He shouted over the movement. 

Suddenly the floor gave out and Vlad awoke in his armchair. 

Danny also stirred and looked up at him in alarm. 

“Are you okay, little badger?”

“I think so,” Danny responded, taking a few moments to take in his surroundings.

“Do you remember what happened?”

Danny hung his head and nodded. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Vlad offered. “I want to help. I love you and support you. I mean everything I said in your dream world and I’ll be there to help you out every time, okay?”

“Okay,” Danny choked. 

They were silent for a few minutes. Vlad could feel Danny’s distress but didn’t know what to do about it. 

“I’m sorry,” Danny whispered. 

“None of that,” Vlad said. He got up and sat down next to Danny. Danny flinched away from him. “I mean it, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“I didn’t want you to see that.”

“I know. I’m sorry I invaded. I know we agreed not to. But I was really worried and I’m glad I was able to help. I did help right?”

Danny nodded. 

“Everyone needs help, little badger. Needing it doesn’t make you weak, it just means you’re strong enough to seek it out.” 

“You’ve given me this talk before.”

“And I will keep giving it until you listen to me.”

“I’m so weak.”

“Daniel. You’re not. You’re the only one who sees it that way.”

“I got trapped in my own mind and needed you to come save me. That seems pretty weak to me.”

“That’s not weakness,” Vlad protested. “Daniel, they tortured you for months. They broke you down because they wanted you to suffer. And you’re still here, still fighting. I can’t think of anyone who could have survived what you did. All this is normal, and working on recovering from what they did is a slow process. You need to be patient and believe in yourself.”

Danny shook his head. 

“And until you believe in yourself, I’ll be there to believe in you. You can’t escape me that easily.”

“It never has been easy to escape you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“fruitloop,” He muttered under his breath. 

Vlad chuckled. 

“Can I put my arm around you?” Vlad asked. 

“I suppose.”

“Well, what do you want?”

“I don’t know!” Danny looked up at him. There was frustration and despair in his voice. “I never know! Everyone always want’s to help and asks what I want or need, and I don’t know! I don’t know if I can handle being touched, because that’s scary but comforting. I don’t know how I feel or what will influence it. I panic or get trapped in my mind for no reason! And I’m not happy and I’m trying to be and I can’t.” 

Danny was sobbing now. 

“And I’m sorry, you’re doing so much for me and I’m still a mess, and I’m trying! I’m really trying, but it’s not working.”

“I know you’re trying,” Vlad offered. “I commend you on how hard you’re trying. But it’s okay to rest too. You don’t have to know how you’re feeling and you don’t have to know what you want. However you’re feeling is okay. You don’t have to try to feel anything, just let it happen. Happiness and security will come with time.”

“But how much time?” He demanded. “I don’t want to feel this way for more time than I need! I don’t want to panic or cry or be scared all the time!”

“I know. And you won’t. We’ll work on building your safe place in your mind. And we can work on feeling safe and supporting you and getting through this. You’re not alone, Daniel and you never will be again,” Vlad said, gazing closely at him. “And you can’t force these things either, they just happen with effort and love and rest.”

Danny hiccuped. 

Vlad sat quietly next him, occasionally offering kind words, keeping his tone gentle, but he was mostly silent. He tried to be a comforting presence, projecting safety and peace through their mental connection. 

Danny’s cries slowed, and the two watched the rest of the game sitting close, but not really talking. 

“It’s getting late, do want to try and sleep?” Vlad asked. 

“Yeah, but I need to shower first.”

“Of course,” Vlad nodded in understanding, remembering Danny’s dream. “I’m right here if you need anything.”

Danny nodded. He pulled himself up and started to hobble out of the den on his crutches. He paused and turned to look at Vlad. 

“Thanks, for everything.”

“No thanks necessary little badger.”

Danny smiled, but it was sad. 

“G’night.”

“Goodnight, Daniel.”

...

Danny answered the knock on the door, getting there as quickly as his crutches would allow. He opened the door and had to maneuver himself around it once it was open.

“Hey Danny.”

It was his mother. 

“Um hi,” Danny replied. She was alone, no sign of the rv or his dad. 

“Can I come in?”

“Um,” Danny hesitated, not sure how to say ‘no’. He wasn’t ready to have his mom enter where he lived yet. He needed the safe place, and he was still far from comfortable with his mother. It had taken him long enough to trust Vlad’s mansion; he didn’t want to destroy it. 

“Or we can sit on the porch,” His mother offered.

“Yeah, can we do that?” Danny asked. 

His mother stepped away from the doorway but stood a little too close. Danny knew somewhere that is was because he was on crutches still and she wanted to be there in case he fell. Nevertheless, there was still a nagging fear about why she was lingering. 

Danny sat down in the closer of the two porch chairs. His mom sat in the other. 

“Sorry,” Danny said. “I’m being rude, I should’ve let you in.”

“It’s okay, Danny. I know I promised not to come here, but I thought this was important.”

Danny was silent as he waited for her to elaborate. 

“I have a question for you.” Danny instinctively flinched. Those words were a warning that he couldn’t quite train his body to ignore. Whenever his mother said that, pain usually followed regardless of how he answered her question. 

His mother noticed. Danny watched her lower her gaze. 

“I met with a ghost named Clockwork, do you know him?”

Danny nodded. 

“I asked if I could go back in time and change what happened; not your accident, just the whole thing with the GIW.”

Danny nodded again. He’d been wondering about this as well. What would Clockwork say if he asked to change the past so he was never captured? He’d probably prohibit it and Danny recalled the last time Clockwork had let him change the past. It’d been catastrophic. 

“He said no,” His mom continued. “He said that he regretted what happened to you, but your future for all realities is more secure this way. He said your timeline was so sensitive that we couldn’t afford to change it any.”

Danny nodded again. It had been just as he’d expected. 

“Do you know what that means, honey? That your timeline is sensitive?”

“Yeah, I do,” Danny replied. “But um, it’s a long and complicated story, and you probably don’t want to hear it.”

“If your timeline is jeopardy I want to help, I want to protect you. I can only do that if I know what that means.”

Danny sighed. Where should he start? He hadn’t told anyone; not even Sam and Tucker. Frankly, his mother was the last person he ever expected to share the story with. 

“So um, time is complicated. Every choice we make, well, there’s different realities for everything. And they’re all possible. There was a reality. It started off I cheated on my SATs. Mr. Lancer caught me and wanted to meet with you and dad. It was at the Nasty Burger. I was grounded so couldn’t go hang out there with Sam and Tucker. The whole restaurant exploded. I…um…I was so upset and blamed myself that I went to my arch enemy and had him remove my ghost half. It combined with my arch enemy, forming a more powerful ghost. It killed my human half. It grew up and terrorized the entire Earth and the Ghost Zone. He’d killed so many people and destroyed the world so bad that the Master of Time contacted me to try and stop it. I battled my evil future self. He trapped me in his time and went back here to pretend to be me and cheat on that stupid test, securing his future. The other ghosts helped me out and I defeated him. My evil, adult side is trapped in a Fenton Thermos in Clockwork’s layer. You might have seen it. Did that all make sense?”

“I’ll have to brush up on my theories about time and realities, but yes it made sense,” His mother said. “So you didn’t cheat?”

Danny shook his head. “And in theory, that should mean I don’t become Dan. That’s what I call the evil adult ghost version of me. But time is sensitive and just because I didn’t cheat on my SATs and my entire family didn’t die, doesn’t mean I won’t become Dan.” 

His mother simply nodded. Danny didn’t know what that meant. Was she disappointed in him? Worried for their safety? Was she scared of him and his future? Did she want to kill him now to prevent the future from ever occurring? 

“Clockwork said he wouldn’t change anything because the future looked more secure. I guess in more realities or paths, Dan doesn’t ever show up,” His mother said. 

“I don’t understand why that would be,” Danny said, more to himself than to his mother.

“Have you been thinking a lot recently about Dan?” 

Danny nodded. 

“Do you think that because of what happened, you’re more likely to become Dan?”

Danny nodded again. 

“Why?”

“Why?” Danny asked, a little incredulous. “Why? Well, I’m hurting, I wonder about my sanity, I’m so angry at you but I feel bad about it so haven’t let it out. I can’t be constantly having flashbacks and panicking, and feeling angry and confused all the time, but that’s how it is. And well, I can’t think of any other emotions that would lead to Dan.”

Danny felt the familiar tightness in the back of his throat, telling him he was either going to cry or suffocate trying not to. He looked away, trying to will the tears in his eyes to dry. Suffocating it was. 

“Maybe,” his mother said, her words slow and deliberate. “Maybe after what happened, you’re finally opening up about things you’ve been holding in. Like Dan. Maybe Clockwork said what he did because you’re finally getting the support that you need.”

Danny brushed tears away from his eyes. 

“Danny, can we talk about what happened?” His mother asked. 

“I don’t have anything to talk about.”

“I don’t really have much to say either...but, I did want to say I’m sorry. Not just for all the things I did to you, but for not believing you.”

Danny didn’t know what to say. He knew it was polite to say ‘thank you’ or something, but no words would come. 

“I love you, Danny, and I will do whatever you need; I will do whatever it takes to repair our relationship. I know I can’t make up for what happened, but I can at least work on the future.”

“That’s the other thing,” He found himself blurting, speaking before thinking. Why was he opening up to his mother of all people?

“What, honey?”

“You’re willing to do so much to fix this, but I…I don’t know if I am. Every time I think about making up or anything, I get anxious and angry, and the PTSD symptoms get worse again, but there’s a laziness there too…I’m happy with Vlad and I feel safe and…I kinda don’t want to put the effort into something I haven’t really had.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once I got my powers, I was constantly on edge at the house. I was worried your equipment would continue working and you’d eventually figure it out. I was scared of ghosts attacking. I was scared of failing out of school and disappointing you. I was…well it doesn’t matter.”

“What Danny, what else were you scared of?”

Danny’s anger overwhelmed him. This time it wasn’t just for all the pain at the GIW. It was for years of believing something terrible about his parents, and then having it confirmed. 

“I was scared that once you found out about my ghost half, you wouldn’t love me anymore!” Danny hiccuped on a sob. 

_Way to sound angry._   
Danny suddenly wanted to stand up and leave. He reached for his crutches. 

“Danny,” His mother said. Something about the tone in her voice made him look at her. She was also crying. “I’m sorry you ever thought that. And I’m sure the GIW only confirmed that fear for you.”

Danny nodded. 

“I can’t change what happened. Or what I led you to believe…and I hate to say it but before Jazz explained, I did hate Phantom. But now that I know the truth, I could never hate you. Or Phantom, because I know you’re one in the same. Danny, I hated him because I thought he killed you, or was copying you, or putting you in danger. I didn’t understand and I didn’t try to. I hated Phantom because I thought he had hurt one of the people I love most in this world. I could never hate you for anything, not for cheating on your SATs, or becoming an evil ghost, or for being angry at me, anything.” 

“I didn’t cheat.”

“I know. But I’m making a point.”

Danny looked away again. There was no stopping the flow of tears now. 

“I’m sorry you didn’t feel safe at the house,” His mom continued. “And that makes sense, if you feel comfortable with Vlad why you wouldn’t to give us a try. But your dad and I can enable any technology out there to keep the ghosts away, we’ll even destroy the portal if you want. And well, hopefully you don’t worry about your dad or I attacking you.”

“I worry about you, but not so much dad.”

“Well you could take your dad in a fight blindfolded.” His mother’s joke made him smile against his will. 

“But seriously, honey, I won’t attack you either,” His mother continued. “I know that might be hard to process right now. But I mean it. I would never do anything to endanger you.”

Danny nodded. 

“I realize how shitty that sounds coming from me, but I mean it.”

Danny grinned again, despite his best efforts. 

“Will you accept my apology?” She asked. 

“Yeah, but I still don’t feel any better.”

His mother nodded. “No one said you had to. Apologies are just a start. Feeling better will take a long time, on both our parts.”

“I’m sorry I’m so angry at you, and well, that I’ve been avoiding you.”

“Don’t apologize for your feelings. They are neither right nor wrong, they have no intentions of doing harm to anyone, they’re just your feelings. You have every right to be angry with me. In fact, I’d be worried if you weren’t. And if avoiding me is what you need to do to get through this, then I support you in doing so.”

Danny brushed away more tears. 

“And Danny,” his mother said, drawing his eyes back to hers. “I don’t think you’ll ever become Dan. You’ve let these feelings out and let us help you. I think Dan had no where to share his pain and anger and it just built up until he snapped. But you are so loved and surrounded by people who want to help you and be a part of your life. Not just your father and I, but Jazz, and Vlad, and Sam and Tucker.” 

“Thanks mom.”

“Are you feeling any better?”

“I don’t know. I never know how I’m feeling. I think I just need to take some time and just think about this for a while.”

“Emotions are hard, and you’re probably feeling many of them all at once,” his mother offered. “It’s also okay for things to not make you feel better. Not everything will help. Some things will make it worse. And some will make it better. There doesn’t have to be any rhyme or reason as to what will help and what won’t. And that’s okay. It’s just part of the healing process.”

“Did your therapist tell you that?” He meant it as a joke but it came out a bit menacing. 

“Actually yes, but I thought the advice might mean more to you than it did to me.”

“You’re seeing a therapist?” 

“Yeah. I’m a bit at a loss with my own emotions right now too. I will never try to insinuate that what I am going through is worse, because it’s not, but my guilt is eating me alive so your father insisted I talk to someone about it.”

“Knowing you feel guilty makes me feel better. But feeling better because you’re guilty also makes me feel like a terrible person.”

His mom smiled. “You are far from a terrible person. Like I said, feelings are just feelings. And you never know what’ll help and what won’t. I’m glad you feel that way, and that you shared it with me.”

Danny nodded. The tears had stopped. He felt empty and weighed down at the same time. He was dizzy from all the crying and his throat stung. But mostly, he just felt tired. This was so much to take in, so many emotions out in the open, so many secrets revealed. He wasn’t sure if he felt relieved, or better, or worse yet. Right now he was just numb with all the feelings drowning him. 

“Well, this was good,” His mother said. “Can I tell your father about what happened?”

Danny nodded. 

“Okay. I think I’ll get off your porch. If that’s okay with you?” 

Danny nodded again. He wanted her gone, but he felt bad about that. He also wanted her to stay and was terrified of that feeling.

“Okay. Well, I love you Danny.” His mother stood up to leave.

“Do I have to say I love you back?”

“You can say anything you’d like.”

“I do love you, I just, there’s a lot of other things and feelings going on right now that make that complicated.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I made it so complicated.”

Danny forced a smile. 

“Well, your father and I are a phone call away. You have your appointment for your leg soon?”

“Yeah, a week from Thursday.”

“Good. I’m sure it’ll be great, but keep us posted.”

Danny nodded. 

“Do you want a hug or anything?” his mom asked. 

“Not really.”

“Okay. Bye honey.”

“Bye mom.”

Danny watched her drive away before going to find Vlad. He found him in the den, feet up on the footrest, arms spread on top of the cushions. Danny sat down on the couch and put his crutches against the coffee table. He crawled over to Vlad and rested his head against his warm chest. Vlad silently wrapped his arm around Danny’s shoulders. 

Danny wanted to cry but he didn’t have tears left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thanks for reading this far folks! As always feel free to drop me a message telling me what you thought, any ideas or anything else!


	14. Chapter 14

The doctors finally removed the cast around his leg. It had been about four months; and Danny did not like being back at the hospital. 

“Have you been able to put any weight on it?” The doctor asked, cutting the cast away with sharp scissors. 

“No,” Danny said. He was excited to have to cast off, but there was a deep worry in his chest. He was going to get bad news and knew it. 

“Well, for a break this severe, four months is fairly quick.”

His leg was pale and hairy. He was surprised to see how normal the leg looked besides the sweat and the huge scar running up the side. 

“Well, that looks good,” The doctor said, holding his leg steady. Danny still couldn’t feel the hands on his leg. “Can you move it all?”

Danny tried. He tried so hard to make his leg do anything. He could move his hips and even his knee, but not his ankle. 

“Don’t worry, yet,” The doctor said kindly. “Your muscles have extreme atrophy.”

The doctor grabbed his foot and moved it back and forth. Danny couldn’t feel that either. He looked over at Vlad, trying to keep his composure. He should still be able to feel atrophied muscles. 

“Can you feel this?” Danny couldn’t see what the doctor was doing to his foot and shook his head. 

Vlad was leaning over, observing what the doctor was doing to test his nerves. 

He stood up straight, and had something pointy and sharp. Danny gasped and tried to pull back. Vlad put a hand on his shoulder. 

“It’s just to test your feeling,” he said.

Danny nodded, biting his lip. 

“Can you feel any of this?” The doctor slowly poked him with the pointy thing, testing different parts of his right leg. Danny shook his head. The doctor slowly moved up his leg. Only once he got above the scar could Danny feel the prick of the tool. 

The doctor put down the instrument and ran his hands over Danny’s leg. 

Danny’s heart was sinking deeper by the second. 

“Well, Daniel,” The doctor said. “It seems like you have some nerve damage.”

At least Danny had been right. 

“But don’t worry yet, we can run some more tests.”

“Doctor, is there anything that you can do to fix it?”

He frowned. “Honestly, probably not. But we can run some more tests and see exactly what we’re looking at. Feeling might come back in time.”

“Can I do physical therapy or training?” He asked, failing to keep the desperation out of his voice. 

“Let me run some tests, and look at the results,” The doctor said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s not make any conclusions yet.”

Danny nodded. 

The doctors ran their tests and Vlad and Danny waited. Danny was silent. He knew what the tests would say. He’d been reading everything he could find on the internet about permanent nerve damage and knew he was a perfect candidate. 

When the doctor returned, he told Danny what he’d been waiting to here the whole time. 

Danny nodded at everything they said, feeling cold and empty. 

Vlad helped him get on a shoe and sock onto his foot. Danny argued that he could do it himself but Vlad insisted.

Danny reached for his crutches and pulled himself up. Once again he tried to test his useless leg but it didn’t support his weight and he couldn’t move it anyway. He limped out of the doctor’s office. His parents had driven up. 

“Danny, honey, how’d it go?” his dad asked. He stood and came over to Danny.

Danny looked up at him, then back down at the floor. 

“Danny, What’s the news?” His mom asked also standing. Danny couldn’t look at her. This was her fault. He just kept walking without saying a word. He was so hurt and angry and dejected. He’d never walk again and wasn’t ready to verbalize that yet. There were tears in his eyes, and he just wanted them to stay there until he was alone.   
They didn’t follow them to Vlad’s Ferrari. He climbed into the passenger seat, and let Vlad move the crutches to the back. 

Danny couldn’t hold it in anymore. He was sobbing by the time Vlad got the car out of the parking lot. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said. 

Danny shook his head. He wasn’t ready for this yet. 

Vlad didn’t say anything else. 

He watched out the window, wondering what his life would be like. He could still fly in ghost form, but what did that do for him? It was his right foot too, he couldn’t even drive. 

He would need a desk job. But he hadn’t graduated high school and he couldn’t walk. Who on Earth would hire him for anything?

It was a long drive back to Vlad’s mansion. 

Vlad parked in his garage, in the spot of honor reserved for his prized possession. 

Danny reached into the back and got his crutches and went into the castle. He didn’t know where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do. Nothing he could think of doing made him feel any better. Maybe he should call his parents, it’d been rude to just ignore them and leave. He felt bad doing that to his dad, but not to his mom. No, he felt bad about that too. 

He threw himself onto the couch in the den and put his feet up. One of the crutches fell over, making a horrendous clattering and banging against the side table before it fell on the carpet. Danny looked over at it and decided it wasn’t worth the effort right now. Was anything worth the effort?

Vlad came in. 

“Daniel?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Can we try something?”

“What?”

“I healed your hand. Somehow, I reattached a dismembered limb. Maybe I can try on your leg? What’s the worst that can happen?” 

“I don’t want to get my hopes up,” Danny replied, looking away from Vlad. 

Danny turned back when a warm hand squeezed his shoulder. 

“Please, Daniel,” he said. “I removed the shrapnel and cauterized the wound. If you can’t walk it’s my fault and I will feel so terrible if this is permanent. Please let me try and fix it.”

Danny nodded. If it was for Vlad’s peace of mind.

“I’d like you to ghost,” Vlad said, kneeling down beside his right leg. 

Danny obliged, feeling a little better as Phantom. Vlad also turned into Plasmius. He placed his hands on Danny’s useless leg. 

Danny watched in fascination as Vlad closed his eyes and concentrated. His brow creased, and he looked pained. Suddenly his hands glowed red. To his surprise though, his leg started glowing green. Then the glow seemed to combine and white light was radiating off his foot and leg, so bright that it hurt to look at. 

Vlad opened his glowing eyes to see what was going on. The white light receded revealing Danny’s leg again.   
Vlad fell over and transformed back into the human that Danny had grown comfortable with. Danny leapt up, and checked on Vlad, worried. He trained constantly, and was so strong with his powers, what had happened? 

Danny remained in his ghost form because what if Vlad needed help? He wasn’t strong enough as a human to do anything. Danny sat Vlad upright against the couch and checked his pulse. 

Vlad’s eyes fluttered open, and fell on Danny. “Daniel.”

“Hey, you okay?” Danny asked, keeping a hand on Vlad’s shoulders. 

“Yeah,” he breathed. “How about you? How’s your leg?” 

Danny transformed back into human form. He realized he was squatting beside Vlad, balancing on the balls of his feet. Both his feet. 

He gasped and fell over. Vlad tried to catch him, but didn’t move fast enough. Danny sat up and pulled his right leg into his lap. He could feel it! The discomfort of the awkward angle he was holding his foot at, he could wiggle his toes, he could feel his fingers on his feet! 

Next thing he knew, he was sobbing again. He was smiling and crying into Vlad’s shoulder. 

“Thank you!” 

“You’re so welcome little badger.”

“We should call my parents back…” Danny said. “And that doctor!” 

Danny pulled out his phone and dialed his dad. Vlad dialed the doctor. 

“Hello?”

“Hi dad.”

“Danny, is everything okay?”

“Yeah! Sorry I stormed out of the doctor! But my feeling came back! I’m going to be able to walk again!”

“That’s great Danny! Your mother and I were so worried.”

Danny didn’t have words after that. 

“Are you going to go back to that doctor?” his dad filled. “Do you need to do physical therapy or anything?” 

“Probably. Vlad is on the phone with him now.”

“That’s awesome news, I’m glad it all worked out!” 

Danny smiled. 

“I’m driving, so, do you want to talk to mom?”

“No, that’s okay.”

“Okay, keep us posted about everything!”

“I will.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

...

Danny walked into the bathroom, the tiled floor making no difference on his slippered feet. He made sure to hold onto the counter; after all he had only been walking for a few days. 

He used the bathroom. He would never had thought he’d be proud of himself for basic self care, but he’d needed Vlad’s help for what felt like ever. He’d been bedridden for a long time while his back, ribs, illness, and good leg were healing up. That was the absolute worst. Danny was still mortified thinking about it. He felt his face flush and the familiar shame. 

His therapist said everything was fine. There was nothing to be ashamed of. Other people had hurt him, and his body needed time to heal. The people caring for him didn’t see him as weak or useless or a burden the way Danny did. They needed to work on his own view of himself. 

Then he became mobile. Or mobile with help. His right hand was still a mess so he couldn’t use crutches for the first few weeks. Having to be pushed in a wheel chair was almost as bad. Danny had mastered lifting himself with his good leg and balancing with his good hand to use the bathroom on his own, but he needed Vlad to get him there and help him wash his hands. 

Then crutches. Again another step in the right direction. That had been his real first time independently relieving himself. But Vlad followed him around and patiently waited outside. He couldn’t blame him; Danny had fallen more than once. The crutches were even more of a pain then normal because his right hand was so weak and stiff. 

But now it was so normal. He was astounded at how quickly he’d reverted back to his old routine, not realizing how comforting is was that everything was normal. Vlad had just waited in the lounge. This is what freedom felt like. 

He went to wash his hands, having realized that he’d zoned out. 

He glanced up at the mirror and gasped. 

He instinctively looked behind him for the other boy in the mirror, but of course there was no one. It was just him. 

Which meant the boy in the mirror was him. 

His face was thinner than he remembered, with dark bags under his eyes. Hadn’t he been sleeping? Hadn’t he been sleeping a ton? There was a scar running up his cheek. It was a small white line. Had it been from the shrapnel?  
His mouth was turned down. Somehow he looked older. His skin didn’t look as healthy. Normally it glowed, and he attributed that to his ghost core. His eyes were sunken in. But mostly his eyes were tired and dull, like an old man who’d seen too much. There was another scar on his lip. This one was smaller, he had to search his face closely to see it. It was just a thin ridge right up the center. He must have bitten through it. He remembered doing that more than once. 

His hair was stupidly long. He hadn’t realized it had gotten that bad. He normally liked his hair at a manageable tuft. Bangs to get in his eyes. But any longer and he just looked ridiculous. His hair was past his shoulders. It was at least clean and combed, and but it was too straight and flat. It hung off his head as if it were weighted down, or he had greased it. It only emphasized the old, worn, damaged look he associated with his face. 

He had been trying to convince himself he was handsome before he had been captured. What could Sam have possibly seen in him, besides the super hero act? On good days, he thought he was a little attractive, but most days he just looked…he wasn’t sure. Ugly was too harsh. He wasn’t plain. But his face was pointy like his mom, but wide like his dad. Strong jaw, which he admired in other men, but not on him. 

He did like his eyes; a cerulean blue so bright that they glowed. Big pupils full of life even though he was a ghost.   
Both of those were gone. His eyes were still bright but his pupils were a little too big. But they were so haunted, timid, tired. Words he hadn’t ever associated with himself before. The pasty color of his skin and the old, tired, pained frown really made him look worse.

He hung his head and tore his eyes away from the creature in the mirror. 

He went back to Vlad, knowing he would worry. But mostly, he just wanted to be alone. 

“Packers scored,” Vlad informed. 

“I need a haircut,” Danny replied. “As soon as possible.” 

And he knew has soon as he got it, he would feel better.

...

Danny lay awake and stared at the ceiling. It was too dark and too light in his room at the same time. The pure darkness scared him, it would be too easy to sneak up on him. But the lights always reminded him of the lab he was kept in and he couldn’t sleep. A sleep mask was worse as it reminded him of a blindfold. The nightmares had gotten worse and he’d woken up thinking he was restrained when he wore it. 

He used to always sleep on his back and the GIW took that away too. And his mother. Danny felt tears well in his eyes. He didn’t do anything about it in the darkness. What kind of person was he that he was still so angry at her? Why was he still scared and having these nightmares?

Danny looked over at his clock. It was close to 3. Still at least four hours before Vlad was awake to work out. He did that first then made breakfast for Danny and let him sleep in. 

Danny appreciated Vlad so much, and Vlad’s kindness eased the anger he was feeling at his mom. It didn’t ease his anxiety any and he could feel his heart pounding. He couldn’t do anything about it. He’d been focusing on breathing deeply and trying the meditation techniques his therapist had taught him but nothing stopped the onslaught of thoughts. 

He was also cold. His room was a sauna and he knew it was ridiculous to be cold, but he was huddled and shivering in a ball under his blankets. He had gotten up awhile ago to get the heated blanket which helped immensely but he still couldn’t stop shivering. How had he slept at all at the GIW? 

Danny knew this wasn’t going to get better on his own. But what could he do? Vlad was asleep, and Danny wouldn’t wake him, he was already more needy than he cared to be. At this hour, even Sam and Tucker were asleep, and they would be going to school. He couldn’t wake them up. Besides, what could they do? They’d say everything was okay and be kind and soothing. Maybe he did need that right now. 

He picked up his phone and went to his contacts. 

My mom would know what to say.

The thought crossed his mind and he had to catch himself before he hit the call icon on his mother’s contact. He couldn’t. She’d freak out if Danny called her this early in the morning. Besides, she was the last person Danny wanted, but couldn’t deny he needed her. 

He felt so overwhelmingly alone. He knew he had support and friends and Vlad, but that changed nothing in the moment. It brought him back to the GIW and had to force away memories that were creeping up on him. That became more and more difficult as the seconds ticked on and he was working himself into a panic. 

He sat up because his bed was turning into a metal observation table. Danny stood up and wrapped himself in his heated blanket, making a little cocoon around himself. 

He opened his door and looked at the darkened hallway. He was silent on the carpeted floors as he stepped outside his room. 

Without really thinking, Danny phased into Vlad’s room across the hall so he wouldn’t wake him. Vlad was asleep, just as Danny had expected. With his heightened ghost vision he saw that Vlad was laying above the covers in a pair of basketball shorts. He was on his back, arms splayed out beside him. His mouth was open and he was snoring loudly. His silver hair was a mess on the pillow. 

Danny crawled onto the other half of the bed, maneuvering carefully to not wake him, and to perverse his blanket cocoon. He shimmied under Vlad’s comforter, which he had pushed over to Danny’s side. Even though Vlad’s room was an igloo compared to Danny’s, he felt so much warmer. He lay on his side and watched Vlad snore. It wasn’t as loud and as ridiculous as his father’s snore. But it was regular at least, unlike his mother. 

He tried all his meditation techniques again, particularly the deep breathing. He found that after doing this for a while, his panic attack had been avoided and his heart rate was slowing. It was still pounding though and his thoughts weren’t abating. 

Sleep was still eluding him. He was so tired; training had really worn him out yesterday and he knew tomorrow would be no different. His legs and right arm simply ached and his eye lids were heavy but he was just lying there wishing he could fully fall asleep. 

Vlad stirred. Danny watched as he closed his mouth and sat up. He shifted to the end of the bed and sat there for a few moments. Danny couldn’t help but stare as he stood up and stayed still for a few more moments. Then he walked over to his bathroom. Vlad didn’t close the door but Danny couldn’t see him so it didn’t matter. He heard a stream of water then a toilet flush. A faucet ran for a little while. Vlad came back in the room and looked at Danny.   
It took Vlad a moment to realize Danny was there. Danny met his eyes, and watched the confusion then the realization occur in his gaze. Danny’s eyes widened in fear. 

What would he say? Was Danny not allowed to be there? Was this weird? Did Vlad hate sharing a bed, specifically his expensive bed? 

Vlad didn’t say anything, just flopped back into bed, once again staying above the covers. 

“Are you warm enough?” Vlad asked. 

Danny jumped at the sudden sound. Vlad’s voice was rough and his words were slurred. 

“Um, I’m still a little cold.”

Vlad skootched a little closer, and Danny could feel the heat from his ghost core already. It warmed him inside in out. He spread his arm out across the pillows as an invitation. Danny awkwardly shimmied closer to him, keeping his blanket tightly bundled around him. 

Vlad smelt like the soap he liked to use, and his sheets smelt like laundry detergent. The central air blowing into his room was comforting white noise underneath Vlad’s snoring. Vlad was asleep instantly and didn’t seem to care that Danny snuggled closer, soaking in his warmth. 

He focused on Vlad’s regular snoring; every three seconds. It lulled him and he finally started to drift off into sleep. 

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed some of the more fluffy bits here.  
> only two more to go after this!  
> Thank you all for reading this far. Please leave a comment or a kudos. I'd love to know what y'all think!


	15. Chapter 15

“Do you have powers I don’t know about?” Danny asked. 

Vlad hesitated. He didn’t want to scare Danny, but didn’t want to keep secrets from him either. “Yes.”

“What it is?”

“I don’t want to show you.”

“Why? Keeping it hidden so you can surprise me in battle?” Vlad knew he was joking, but there was always a concern that Danny thought Vlad would attack him. 

“It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s a ghost power, how bad could it be?”

“You asked for it.”

Vlad reached into his ghost core and let it overwhelm him so that he turned into Plasmius. He focused on his form, and instead of legs, hundreds of blue, glowing tentacles replaced his bottom half. They varied in length, size, width, everything. Some were skinnier than charging cables, others were thicker than his arms. 

Danny burst into a fit of laughter. Vlad blushed. Danny’s joy was contagious and Vlad suddenly didn’t care that Danny was laughing at him. 

“YOU HAVE TENTACLES!” Danny doubled over on himself, laughing a large boisterous chuckle. “You…you could…” He couldn’t even breathe he was laughing so hard. “You could tickle your enemies to death.”

“These are very strong Daniel, I assure you. I could do more than tickle an enemy.” Vlad folded his arms across his chest. 

“YOU LOOK LIKE SQUIDWORD!” Danny shouted. 

“Listen here, Daniel.” Vlad kept his arms crossed, but a thinner tentacle lifted off the floor and gestured at Danny. This put the boy into hysterics. “Tentacles are a very useful ghost power.”  
“Oh yeah?” Danny wheezed. “What could you do?”

Vlad had been slowly inching one of them around the wall so Danny wouldn’t notice. It poked Danny in the shoulder. He spun and looked up at a glowing blue tentacle. Vlad thought Danny was going to fall over he was laughing so hard. 

“They’re good for cooking,” Vlad said. “Or hiking, or multitasking.”

“Please tell me your Squirdward tentacles haven’t touched my food.”

“No, they haven’t.”

“This is so great,” Danny laughed. “The fruitloop has tentacles!” 

Vlad blushed and looked down at the floor. “Daniel?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you spar with me and my tentacles. They could be very good for fighting. I’d like the rest of the ghost world to fear them and not react the way you did.”

Danny’s face turned serious. “Sure. You want to spar with me?”

“You’re an amazing fighter. And it is good exercise,” Vlad said. “Besides, I’d figured you’d like to train to protect yourself. I also thought you liked fighting? Was I wrong?”

“No, I’m just…I don’t consider myself very good at it.”

“I’ve always considered you my most worthy opponent.”

Danny smiled. 

“Thank you, Vlad. I thought the same about you.”

Vlad’s heart warmed at the compliment. 

...

Vlad was wandering through his mansion, looking for Danny. He hadn’t seen him for over an hour and he still couldn’t shake the worry that something had happened, or he was panicking somewhere. 

He tapped into his ghost core and located where he thought Danny was. He was in the gym. 

Vlad walked down to his personal gym, complete with every piece of workout equipment money could buy and a lap pool, designed to swim against the current. 

Danny was in push-up position, and Vlad watched his arms shake as he lowered himself down and up again. Vlad approached him and looked down at him. 

“Your hands are too far apart. They should be under your shoulders,” Vlad commented. 

“I know, but I can’t do the correct way,” he panted. 

Vlad took off his blazer and got into position beside him, easily performing, slow, perfect push-ups. 

“Show off.” 

Danny got up and sat down on his back, as if thinking this would make push-ups harder. Vlad switched to one hand to prove his point. 

“Now that’s just uncalled for.”

“You don’t weigh a lot.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“What are you saying, that I don’t feed you?” Vlad baited. 

Danny crawled off him and pushed him onto his side. 

“Oh, is this how it is?” Vlad demanded, grinning. Danny was smiling as well, telling Vlad it was safe to lunge at him. Danny jumped back but not in time. Vlad grabbed Danny around the legs and brought him down. 

Danny shimmied away and turned to him.

“You asked for it. Going ghost!” 

Vlad watched in pride as the white rings surrounded the slender boy, turning him into the ghost. Vlad did the same, reaching into the fire warming him. Vlad levitated himself off the ground and floated about a foot above the ground, ready. 

Danny flew at him. Vlad turned intangible and let the boy rush through him. Vlad reappeared and shot ectoplasm at the boy. He turned himself around and dodged. He rushed at Vlad again. This time Vlad waited and knocked his punch aside, easily landing his own hit to the boy’s abdomen. Danny gasped and landed on the ground, gasping. 

Vlad was worried that he’d done damage and let Danny recover on the floor. When he was ready, Danny shot ectoplasm at him. Vlad put up his shield and slowly advanced towards Danny. Danny leapt into the air and flew quickly at him. Vlad again was ready and caught Danny around the wrist. Danny lifted his feet high and kicked him the stomach, trying to free his hand. Vlad released him at a particularly hard kick. 

Instead of backing away, Danny flew up, in attempt to land what would have been a staggering upper cut. Vlad caught him again and this time threw him against the wall before Danny could kick him again. 

Vlad flew to the wall, appearing there the second Danny crashed into it. Vlad caught him in the air, pinning him against the wall. 

“I think I’ve won,” Vlad commented. 

“Not yet.”

Danny breathed ice and Vlad found himself cold and stilled. He couldn’t move! Danny turned intangible and escaped his grasp. Vlad reached into his fire core and burst into flames, easily melting Danny’s ice prison. 

He turned to see Danny flying at him. Danny landed an impressive punch to his chest and pulled back flying far away. 

Vlad focused on turning his legs into the tentacles Danny had laughed at. Vlad threw pink ectoplasm in disks at Danny while snaking the tentacles towards him. While Danny dodged a particularly close one, Vlad snapped the tentacles into life and they wrapped around Danny’s limbs, restraining him. Vlad slammed the boy into the ground and focused the tentacles, so Danny couldn’t go intangible and escape. 

Danny struggled futilely.

“Vlad one, Daniel none,” Vlad said smugly. He released the tentacles. “Ready for round two?”

Instead of getting up and fighting, Danny sat up and folded his legs under him. He turned back to human and hung his head. 

Vlad landed and turned back into his human form as well. 

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Vlad asked, hurrying over to Danny’s side.

“No, you didn’t,” Danny said quietly. 

“You did really well, Daniel,” Vlad said, sitting beside him. 

“You won that so easily. I was on the defensive the whole time.”

“You’re out of practice. It will take time to get your normal rhythm, and your strength and speed back.” 

“It felt like when I first got my powers.”

Vlad put his hand on Danny’s shoulder. 

“Was sparring okay with you? We never discussed if you were ready for it or anything.”

“It was fine, I didn’t like being restrained but I guess that’s how you win these things.”

“Did I not let you up fast enough? Were you going to panic or anything?” 

“No, I don’t think so,” Danny replied. He refused to look up at Vlad and that worried him. 

“Then what is it, little badger?”

“I’m just weak. I couldn’t do regular push-ups, and I couldn’t keep up with you at all.”

“You’re not weak,” Vlad corrected, “Just out of shape for a little while.”

“Yeah, and it’s hard to get back in shape.”

“That is true. But I saw you working for it. You gave that fight everything you had. You’ll get there, sooner than you think.”

Danny sighed. 

“Daniel,” Vlad said sternly, “You cannot forget that your physical condition is not your fault. The hospital basically immobilized you.”

“So did the GIW,” Danny whispered. 

Vlad slowly rubbed circles onto Danny’s back. It wasn’t often that Danny talked about what happened during his imprisonment. Vlad respected that boundary, even though he was curious. He did want Danny to open up though; it couldn’t be helpful to hold up all those emotions. He would never ask, but he’d never turn down Danny if he wanted to tell him about it. He always wanted to know more of Danny’s triggers; it’d been difficult to figure out what they were, and he dreaded upsetting the poor boy. 

“I fidget, and I move a lot," Danny said.

“I’ve noticed.” Vlad smiled at him. 

“So they,” Danny continued, “so they wanted to see how I’d respond if I wasn’t allowed to move for a long time. They even tied down my fingers and broke my toes…” 

“How long did they leave you like that?”

“I don’t know.” Danny’s voice was so quiet; the opposite of the boisterous, youthful energy he normally had. “Maybe a week? I…I still don’t know how long I was even there.”

“About a month.”

Danny looked up at him, “Damn, I was hoping I really am as bad at math as everyone thinks.”

“You had calculated it yourself?”

“Yeah, when I saw the date on the television at the hospital. I didn’t think I could possibly have been right.”

Vlad realized he’d stopped with the circles and resumed the calming action. He was horrified that he could feel raised scars on Danny’s back.

“Well, regardless how long they kept me like that, I was always restrained in some way…”

Vlad shook his head. 

“What is it?” Danny asked. 

“It just amazes me how sick those bastards were.”

“Do you think they were scared of me?” Danny’s blue eyes met with Vlad’s. “I mean, why else would they do that?” 

“They were smart to be scared of you; you’re one powerful ghost,” Vlad said comfortingly. “Are you trying to rationalize all the things that they did to you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Daniel. You do understand that none of this was your fault, right? There was nothing you did that caused those horrid people to do what they did. They tortured you solely so that they could cause you pain, and watch you suffer. Sure, they feared you, which may have exasperated some things, or been the reason for the restraints, but you cannot blame that on yourself.”

Danny nodded. 

“If we’re ever sparring, and something makes you uncomfortable, just me let know.”

“It’s good practice. I mean, I get trapped in nets a lot and kidnapped more than I should.”

Vlad frowned. He knew Danny had tried to lighten the mood, but it only made the air in the room more dense. 

“Daniel, I won’t let any of those things happen to you again. Not from the GIW or any of your other ghost enemies.” 

Danny smiled. “Thanks. It sucks when it happens.”

Vlad chuckled. “Understatement of the year.”

“Yeah…I probably can’t handle something like that happening anyway. So, I guess sparring with you just shows that I finally feel safe here.”

“Good,” Vlad said. “It’s been a long time in the working.”

“Are you ready to try again?” 

“What, sparring?” Vlad asked. “Only if you are.”

Danny smiled at him. “Just don’t judge me too hard when I lose.”

“I’m not judging at all. We’re just training and working out.” 

Danny grinned and went ghost. 

Vlad followed suit, ready for round two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. This and the final chapter are pretty short. But if anyone has any inspiration or something they'd like to see in this stage of the story, I'd be happy to see what I can do.


	16. Chapter 16

He was returning serve. Danny rocked left and right on his feet, ready for the ball to hit whichever side. He could feel the thoughts creeping up on him. No, he had to stay focused. Focus was his biggest issue. 

He watched his opponent throw the ball in the air. It came at him like a bullet, but years of dodging ectoplasm and gunfire had prepared him well. He returned the ball with the killer forehand Vlad was so proud of. His opponent ran to the opposite side of the court to return. Danny knew they angle he’d be forced to return at and took the offensive. He ran to the net and slammed the ball into the opposite corner as hard as he could. 

He’d done it! He was up a break! If he could just hold serve, he’d win the match. He walked to his chair that was blissfully out of the sun and sipped at his water. It was lukewarm by now and tasted rather gross. Next time, he would bring a cooler. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the towel the ball boy had brought over. He was ready.   
He stood up and crossed to the other side of the court. This side was worse, the sun was beating down with no shade at all. Luckily his ghost core kept him cool. 

Danny threw the ball, squinting against the sun, and slammed the racket down on the ball, briefly looking at where he wanted. He did have a big serve and Danny prided himself on the ace. He never gave his serve enough credit. 

_Focus, Fenton._

Danny couldn’t tell if the thought was his own or Vlad’s. Vlad never called him Fenton, and he realized he was distracting himself again. He couldn't let Vlad down. It'd been such a long journey, playing tennis in Vlad's backyard while he was recovering, to realizing he had potential, to hiring a private coach and winning tournaments, and now this.

Danny pulled another ball out of his shorts pocket.

Same side. Go for it again. 

Danny repeated the familiar action and served his biggest serve. It was returned this time and Danny went on autopilot, watching the ball come towards him. Danny returned it back, cutting the angle just right. The ball dropped over the net in a deceptive drop shot. Danny ran to the net prepared. When the ball was returned, Danny slammed it across the court as hard as he could. 

Serve and Volley. 

“Thirty, luv.”

Two more points. _I can do this! I can actually do this!_

Danny served again, hitting the other side of the box, catching his opponent off guard. Another ace. 

Danny’s heart was pounding. A win here would be incredible. It’d be the chance of a lifetime. 

His focus abandoned him and his opponent scored the next point. 

Danny took a second to compose himself, bouncing the ball in the familiar routine. He threw the ball, and raised his racket to serve. It was a big one, he could tell. 

“Fault!”

_C’mon Fenton, you can at least do this right. You can’t let Vlad down._

Danny was suddenly overcome with anxiety and he could feel a panic attack coming on. No, he had to do this. It was one more point. Double Match Point. It wasn’t the end yet. He could handle this. He looked up at the sun, grounding himself. He was on the tennis court. It was his second serve. 

Still panting, Danny served again, making sure the ball landed in the box. His opponent returned it easily, but Danny returned it back with his stunning forehand. It was the longest rally yet, but he could feel himself slowly taking the offensive. 

It was a backhand winner that did the trick, just barely touching the line. 

That was it. Danny hunched over, crying. He couldn’t believe it! He’d won!

He composed himself and shook hands with his opponent, then with the chair umpire. 

Then the officials started to come out. It wasn’t a huge spectacle, after all, he’d only qualified for the U.S. Open, not won it. But the officials came out anyway and congratulated him on earning a spot in the first round. He was not ranked, and it would not be easy, but he was there. From here he could get a real coach and a real manager. He may even get a ranking if he did well enough. This was his entrance to the professional circuit.

He turned to the player box, where his whole family was on their feet cheering. Vlad, front and center next to his coaches. His mom and dad in the row behind him, clapping vigorously as you weren't supposed to do at tennis tournaments. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were there as well, taking up the remaining seats, politely celebrating with his coaches. 

He loved all of them so much, and couldn't believe the bright future before him, with all of them behind him to support his new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short bit of fluff to wrap this all up.   
> Honestly, not quite sure how I managed to connect tennis and Danny Phantom but I think it makes sense. Haha.   
> I know the end wasn't as flushed out as the beginning, but thanks for coming all this way everyone!   
> I really appreciate you reading this and I'd love to hear from you.   
> Thank you again everyone.


End file.
